Deadline: February 15, 2026
Applications are open for the STIAS Iso Lomso Fellowship 2026. Iso Lomso means ‘the eye of tomorrow’ in isiXhosa: seeing towards the future, laying the foundations for tomorrow. The programme is aimed at African scholars who have obtained a doctoral degree within the preceding seven years and who hold an academic position at a university or research institution anywhere in Africa.
Iso Lomso fellowships provide a three-year attachment to Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study (STIAS) to enable fellows to develop and conduct a long-term research programme of their preference. The aim is to facilitate and support them towards becoming established scholars in their fields. The main means of support is STIAS residencies. Residential periods will be agreed mutually between the fellow, his or her home institution and STIAS, and may vary between six weeks and five months per residency. A first period of residency will typically be of longer duration to be taken up during 2027, followed by two further residencies through 2029.
Benefits
While in residence fellows receive regular STIAS fellow support which includes:
- an economy return flight;
- comfortable accommodation within walking distance from the institute;
- individual offices equipped with a PC, telephone and printer;
- a monthly stipend for daily living costs;
- access to the Stellenbosch University library (including electronic resources) and a high-speed internet connection;
- participation in the regular STIAS fellows programme, including daily lunch, weekly fellows’ seminars, STIAS public lectures and social events;
- a child care subsidy for fellows accompanied by young children while in residence.
Eligibility
To be eligible for the 2026 call, applicants must:
- be a national of any African country;
- be born after the 1st of January 1984;
- have an affiliation at a research or higher education institution in an African country, and continue to do so for the foreseeable future;
- have obtained a doctoral degree from any recognised higher education institution (worldwide) after the 1st of January 2018;
- have completed a post-doctoral fellowship or equivalent post-PhD research programme;
- be in a position to commence a first period of residency at STIAS during 2027.
Selection Criteria
Applications will be evaluated and selected on the basis of the following criteria:
- Level: the applicant’s academic excellence and the originality and scholarly strength of the proposed research project;
- Innovation: the project’s promise of new insights and the potential to produce new knowledge;
- Interdisciplinarity: whether the project methodology allows for drawing from different disciplines and its potential to facilitate an interdisciplinary discourse;
- Relevance: the project’s relevance for scholarship and knowledge production in Africa;
- Feasibility: whether the research design and the research plan are convincing and realistic.
During final selection, additional consideration will be given to:
- gender representation;
- diversity of nationalities;
- diversity of disciplines;
- participation in previous or current research projects;
- previous international experience.
Application
Shortlisted candidates may be contacted during May 2025 for any additional information that may be required about their proposed projects. A final selection will be made by the end of May 2026 and successful candidates will be contacted during June 2025.
For more information, visit STIAS Iso Lomso Fellowship.
