CAS President's International Fellowship Initiative (PIFI)
Description
The Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) offers a package of international fellowships, collectively called the “CAS President’s International Fellowship Initiative (PIFI)”, to support highly-qualified international scientists and postgraduate students to work and study at CAS institutions and strengthen their scientific collaboration with CAS researchers. The PIFI program is available for four categories of international researchers and students: distinguished scientists, visiting scientists, postdoctoral researchers and international PhD students.
Fellowships
？ Category A: PIFI for Distinguished Scientists
The CAS President’s International Fellowship for Distinguished Scientists supports leading international scientists to conduct a lecture tour at CAS for 1-2 weeks. Each professor is invited to visit at least two CAS-affiliated institutions (research institutes or universities) to lecture and interact with CAS researchers and postgraduate students. He or she is also expected to host CAS postdoctoral researchers at CAS expenses at his or her lab for a research stay of 1-3 months.
This fellowship provides each awardee with a stipend of ￥50,000 per week, to cover all expenses for this lecture tour, including a round-trip international airfare, accommodation, meals, transportation and honorarium.
Eligibility Criteria
Candidates should be well established and internationally recognized scientists in their respective research fields, having obtained outstanding scientific accomplishment and prestigious international honors, awards or prizes.
？ Category B: PIFI for Visiting Scientists
The CAS President’s International Fellowship for Visiting Scientists supports high-caliber international scientists to carry out cooperative projects at CAS-affiliated institutions for 1-12 months. The fellowship aims to create or strengthen partnerships between CAS host institutions and the recipients’ home institutions.
The fellowship provides a monthly stipend to cover living expenses, health insurance in China, and economy-class round-trip international travel. Awardees of full professor or equivalent title, associate professor or equivalent title, and assistant professor or equivalent title will receive stipends of ￥40,000, ￥30,000 and ￥20,000 per month respectively.
Eligibility Criteria
Candidates should have:
1. Academic title of at least assistant professor or equivalent;
2. A record of outstanding scientific accomplishment;
3. Five years’ work experience in a well-known university, research institution or multinational corporation;
4. A collaborative research proposal prepared in cooperation with the CAS host institution.
* Successful UK applicants for category B is supported by CAS-Royal Society exchange programs under the “UK-China Research and Innovation Partnership Fund”.
？ Category C: PIFI for Postdoctoral Researchers
The CAS President’s International Fellowship for Postdoctoral Researchers supports promising young international scientists to conduct research at CAS-affiliated institutions for 1-2 years.
CAS offers an annual salary to postdoctoral researchers to cover living expenses and health insurance in China. Each selected awardee will receive a pre-tax stipend of ￥200,000 per year. In addition, the fellowship provides an economy-class round-trip international travel.
Eligibility Criteria
Candidates should:
1. Be citizens of a country which has diplomatic relations with China
2. Hold a PhD in natural or technological sciences;
3. Be under the age of 40;
4. Have a recommendation from a CAS host researcher;
5. Be able to communicate well with the CAS host researcher;
6. Present a collaborative research proposal prepared in cooperation with the CAS host institution.
* Successful UK applicants for category C is supported by CAS-Royal Society exchange programs under the “UK-China Research and Innovation Partnership Fund”.
？ Category D: PIFI for International PhD Students
The CAS-TWAS President’s Fellowship for International PhD Students supports 200 international graduates each year, to pursue their PhD degrees at the University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (UCAS), the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) or CAS institutes around China.
International students will take regular training courses at UCAS/USTC for about a year and carry out research and dissertation at CAS institutes. In addition to tuition waivers, this program will provide travel support and visa application fees for selected awardee, as well as a monthly allowance to each awardee.
Eligibility Criteria
Candidates should:
1. Be citizens of a country which has diplomatic relations with China ;
2. Be under the age of 35;
3. Have no other assignments during the period of his/her fellowship;
4. Meet the admission criteria for international students of UCAS/USTC;
5. Hold a Master’s degree before the start of the fellowship period;
6. Have working proficiency in either English or Chinese;
APPLICATION PROCEDURE
1. Applications for categories A, B or C must be submitted through the main host institution affiliated to CAS. Applications submitted by individuals will NOT be accepted.
Before applying:
？ Identify an appropriate CAS host researcher working as a faculty member at a CAS-affiliated host institution. (For a full list of CAS-affiliated host institutions, please refer to http://english.cas.cn/institutes/research_bodies/.)
？ Work out a short-term visitor’s program or research proposal with the CAS host researcher before completing the application form.
Before submitting, the following documents should be prepared:
？ Application form in English (Please download the application form from http://english.bic.cas.cn/AF/Fe/201507/P020150723556104375165.xls)
？ A recent passport-sized digital photograph (in color)
？ Copy of passport data page
？ Personal CV in English (including education and work experience)
？ Copy of the highest obtained educational diploma/degree certificate, and/or professional qualification certificates
？ Research proposal(except applicants for distinguished scientists), including objective, detailed description of project, timetable and reasons for the collaboration
？ One recommendation letter from CAS host researcher, in Chinese
？ For postdoctoral researchers, two recommendation letters from two professors in relevant fields (one of whom should be the applicant’s former PhD supervisor)
Submission:
？ Send your application form and all material to your CAS host researcher and he/she will take responsibility to submit your application via our online application system
？ If the applicant intends to cooperate with more than one CAS institution, it is the responsibility of the main host institution to submit the application.
Notice:
The deadline for submitting all material and applications is 1st, September of every year.
For further inquiries, please contact:
Bureau of International Cooperation
Chinese Academy of Sciences
52 Sanlihe Road, Xicheng District, Beijing 100864, China
Tel: +86-10-6859 7521
Fax: +86-10-6851 1095
Email: casfellowship@cashq.ac.cn
Website: http://english.bic.cas.cn/
2. Applications for category D must be accepted by your CAS host supervisor. Application CANNOT be submitted to both UCAS and USTC at the same time.
Before applying:
？ Identify an eligible host supervisor affiliated with UCAS/USTC universities, schools or CAS institutes, and send him/her an explanatory e-mail together with your CV and research proposal.
Please visit UCAS or USTC to get the list of eligible schools/institutes and supervisors.
Before submitting, the following documents should be prepared:
？ Admission application form for International Students
？ Supervisor’s comment page with your host supervisor’s signature and CAS-affiliated institution’s stamp
？ Two recommendation letters from two referees familiar with you and your work (Preferably TWAS members, but not a mandatory requirement)
？ Notarized photocopy of the certificate of university degrees held (both undergraduate and postgraduate; graduates having just completed their degree may provide a pre-graduation certificate)
？ Proof of knowledge of English and/or Chinese
？ Notarized photocopy of transcripts of both undergraduate and post-graduate education
？ Complete CV
？ Detailed research proposal
？ Copy of passport data page
？ Photocopies of all the title pages and abstracts of maximum 5 published academic papers;
？ Foreigner physical examination form
Submission:
？ Visit the official website of UCAS (http://english.ucas.ac.cn/Pages/default.aspx) or USTC (http://en.ustc.edu.cn/) for the Call for Applications. Each applicant should follow the instruction to file his/her application.
？ Please DO NOT send any of your supporting documentations directly to UCAS or USTC Fellowship sub-office.
Notice:
Applicants currently pursuing PhD degrees at any university/institution in China CANNOT apply for the CAS-TWAS President’s fellowship.
The deadline for submitting all material and applications is 31st, March of every year .
For further inquiries, please contact:
？ Applicants for UCAS, please inquire:
CAS-TWAS President’s Fellowship Programme UCAS Office (UCAS)
University of Chinese Academy of Sciences
19A Yuquanlu, Beijing, 100049, China
Tel: +86 10 88256424/6206
Fax: +86 10 88256207
Email: president-fellowship@ucas.ac.cn
？ Applicants for USTC, please inquire:
CAS-TWAS President’s Fellowship Programme USTC Office (USTC)
University of Science and Technology of China
96 Jinzhai Road, Hefei, Anhui, 230026 China
Tel: +86 551 63607981
Fax: +86 551 63607982
Email: presidentfellow@ustc.edu.cn
