The Niels Henrik Abel Board and the International Mathematical Union invite applications from mathematicians professionally based in developing countries to visit an international research collaborator for a period of one month.
In case the length of the visit exceeds one month, the candidate should provide evidence of financial support from the host institution to cover the living expenses beyond the first month.
The program is designed for post doctoral mathematicians in the early stages of their professional careers. It is designed to offer the opportunity for a ‘research sabbatical,’ a necessary complement to teaching and other academic duties for mathematicians desiring to also sustain a viable research program.
The Abel Visiting Scholar Program is fully funded by fund IMU - CDC receives from the Abel Board.
Usually up to 3 Grants are available per YEAR.
Mathematicians from Africa are highly recommended to apply to the IMU Simons African Fellowship Program.
Requirements
Applicants must
1. hold at the time of application a PhD in Mathematics,
2. be based in a developing country at the time of application
3. hold a position in a university/ research institution
4. be in the early stages of their professional careers, more precisely: the applicants should
4. 1) not yet be of full professorial rank but have a working contract in a university/ college
4. 2) be under 40 years of age at the day of the application deadline.
Therefore for the application deadline of April 30, 2017, applicants should be born ON or AFTER April 30, 1977.
The maximum age may be increased by up to three years in the case of an individual with a broken career pattern (applicants who wish to apply for the April 30, 2017 deadline should be born on or after August, 31, 1974). This should be noted in the application together with the reason for the broken career pattern.
Applications from women mathematicians are strongly encouraged.
Definition of "Developing Country"
CDC classifies Developing Countries as those with GNI per capita in USD, not exceeding USD 11,000, in accordance with the United Nations data. (Data as of December 2015) For a list which countries can apply for the Abel Visiting Scholar Program, please go here: CDC DEVELOPING COUNTRY LIST
Deadlines
Applications must be received at least four months before the desired starting date. The selection committee will review the applications and award fellowships every four months. The Result is annouced on the Abel Visiting Scholar 2017 Recipients page.
The following deadlines apply:
- August 31, 2017 for research visits between January 1 and April 30, 2018.
If you application is not complete by the deadline, it cannot be considered for the evaluation round.
Please send your application at least one week in advance that we can check the application.
Each application must include:
- A curriculum vitae including a list of recent publications
- A research plan for the visit
- An official invitation from the institution of the international research partner
- One letter of recommendation If the letter of recommendation is not written by the international research partner (the host), the application should include a statement from the host approving the research plan.
- A copy of the PhD certificate
- A statement about the current employment status/ position in the home institution signed and stamped by your employer. The statement should include the duration of your employment
- A budget estimation (see Financial Support)
- In case you are planning to stay for more than one month you must attached a proof of the matching funds for your living costs from the host institution
Research Statement
The research statement should explain the research project you intend to pursue and list the mathematicians with whom you will collaborate. The applicant must already have initiated research contact with the proposed international research partner(s). Evidence of prior collaboration will be considered a plus. The collaboration should take place at the international partner’s home institution.
Financial Support
The grant can cover for one month and only for the applicant:
- travel cost to the host institution (economy flight or equivalent)
- food expenses (daily expenses should not exceed USD 30 per day)
- accommodation expenses (monthly rent should not exceed USD 1200- in case you expect higher accommodation cost, please explain in your application the expected higher cost)
- travel health insurance
- visa cost
- local public transport up to USD 100 (for one month)
The total maximum amount is USD 5,000 per grantee.
Family expenses and any other cost cannot be covered.
Financial Requirements and Reporting
- Please note that an overview of the expenses need to be listed in the financial report and need to be accompanied by the original invoices and boarding tickets (excluding the living expenses).
- The financial and activity report should be sent to the IMU Secretariat, CDC Administration two (!) weeks after the end of the research visit.
- Unspent funds need to be returned to CDC/ Abel Funds.
Applications
The application form can be found here.
The Abel Visiting Scholar Program is administered by the Commission for Developing Countries of the International Mathematical Union.
Please always send your application form cc to "cdc.grants@mathunion.org".
Your application can only be considered if you sent by the date of the application deadline all required documents.
Mathematicians from Africa should also consider to apply to the IMU Simons African Fellowship Program which has the same conditions and approx. 10 Scholarships available per year. Please note that IF YOU ARE APPLYING FOR THE IMU- SIMONS Travel Fellowship or the IMU-SIMONS AFRICAN Fellowship you cannot apply for the Abel Visting Scholar Program at the SAME time.
Selection Criteria
The selection criteria is based on the the quality of the project and the benefit/added value for the home institution/country.
Selection Committee
A selection committee decides which applications are successful.
The Selection Committee consists of
a) a member chosen by the Abel board
b) a member chosen by CDC
c) a third member chosen by the IMU EC
The time of members of the committee is three years for the members b) and c) with a maximum of two periods. The Abel Board decides for a).
The Selection Committee (1 August 2016–31 July 2019) consists of three members.
In case of questions, please contact the: cdc.grants@mathunion.org
Re-applying
A candidate who is not selected, has the possibility to re-apply.
