Bourses Postdoctorales de Solidarité ULB pour Chercheurs en Danger

The Université libre de Bruxelles has created a Solidarity Fund in order to provide support for researchers who no longer have the freedom to pursue their research in their home country, where they are threatened due to the content of their scientific work or to the opinions they have freely expressed.

The Solidarity Fund provides postdoctoral fellowships enabling threatened academics to continue their work at ULB in a climate of academic freedom.

The solidarity fellowship consists in a one-year (12 months) postdoctoral position, amounting to 42,000 euros gross (approximately 29,000 euros net), plus a discretionary relocation allowance of 2,500 euros net (payable to researchers resident in another country, after their move to Belgium).

Five fellowships will be awarded this year. The recipients will carry out research in a ULB research centre, supervised by a member of the University’s academic staff. They may, if they so wish, take part in teaching activities or any other scientific activities organised on campus.

Requirements

To be eligible for the position, applicants must:

• hold a PhD and occupy (or have occupied) a full time position in a university in their home country;
• be currently at risk in their home country due to the content of their work or to the ideas they have openly expressed;
• not have resided or carried out their main activity in Belgium (work, studies etc.) for more than 24 months during the 36 months immediately preceding the fellowship start date (mobility rule);
• not have obtained their PhD more than 8 years before the fellowship start date;
•  hold a valid passport/travel document and be able to travel to Belgium;
• have a good knowledge of written and spoken English and/or French (minimum B2).

Confirmation by an organization such as Scholars at Risk, the Scholar Rescue Fund, Amnesty International or Human Rights Watch that the candidate is at risk will be taken into consideration.

Interested?

Applications must be submitted by 31 March 2019.

Applicants must submit the completed online application form in the omline platform and send the following documents by email to solidarityfund@ulb.ac.be

• a confidential application letter describing the researcher’s situation (the letter must clearly mention the applicant’s administrative situation, whether he/she has a valid passport, whether it is possible for him/her to travel and his/her current location); 
• the applicant’s CV, including a list of publications; 
• a brief description of the research project that the applicant will work on at ULB; 
• a copy of the applicant’s PhD diploma; 
• a copy of the applicant’s passport; 
• a statement from an organisation such as Scholars at Risk, the Scholar Rescue Fund, Amnesty International or Human Rights Watch confirming that the candidate is at risk (if applicable)
• any other document deemed useful to support the application.

Applicants must also ensure that the following documents are sent directly to solidarityfund@ulb.ac.be by 31 March 2019:

• the form "evaluation de candidature", completed by the member of ULB academic staff who would supervise their research; 
• two reference letters from scientists working in the same field, including, if possible, one from their PhD supervisor.

Only complete applications, that include all the items listed above, can be taken into consideration.

Calendar

• 31 March 2019 – deadline for submission of applications
• End April 2019 – selection committee meeting
• Mid May 2019 – notification by the selection committee
• 1-15 September 2019 – fellowship start date.

Should the applicant be offered a position by another institution before the results of the ULB call for applications are communicated, he/she will inform ULB immediately, by sending an email to solidarityfund@ulb.ac.be.

All documents will be handled with the utmost confidentiality by the selection committee.

For further information, please contact solidarityfund@ulb.ac.be.