Lady Davis Fellowship Trust Post-doctoral Fellowships at Hebrew University
The Lady Davis Fellowship Trust was established 46 years ago in 1973 to provide an opportunity for Visiting Professors, Post-Doctoral Researchers and Doctoral Students from abroad, regardless of nationality, gender or field of scholarship to teach, study and participate in research in Israel at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and at the Technion Institute of Technology in Haifa.
The Lady Davis Trust offers two different Fellowships:
- for Visiting Professors
- for Post-doctoral researchers
Eligibility Criteria for Post-doctoral Researchers
- Please read carefully the paragraph below headed, "You must have an academic sponsor..."
- If you are applying for the Academic Year 2023-2024 you must have received your Doctorate not earlier than the first of October, 2018.
- If you have engaged in Post-Doctoral Research at Hebrew University in any other framework, without a break from October, 2019, you will not be eligible to apply. If you have engaged in Post-Doctoral Research at Hebrew University in any other framework, without a break before October, 2020, you will be eligible to apply for only one year of the Fellowship. You will not be able to apply for an extension.
- Fellowships are rarely awarded to candidates who acquired their Doctorate at the Hebrew University and who wish to continue immediately after the Doctorate with a Post-Doctoral Fellowship - such candidates are required to contact 02-588-2238 or post_vp@savion.huji.ac.il
- You may apply even if you intend to submit your dissertation for judgement in the period between the 1st of January, 2023 and the 30th of September, 2023. If the Academic Committee decides to award a Fellowship, payment will be contingent upon providing proof that the dissertation has been submitted/approved before the 30th of September, 2023.
Academic sponsor
Sponsors in the Faculties of Science, Computer Science & Engineering, Medicine, Dentistry and Agriculture will be expected to cover:
1. 20% of the total cost of the Fellowship for Visiting Professors.
2. 50% of the total cost of the Fellowship for Post-Doctoral Researchers even in the first year.
In the case of Visiting Professors, the Trust will submit a request to the sponsor for the payment of the 20% mentioned. In the case of Post-Doctoral Researchers, the sponsor should consult with the Lady Davis office and work out a mutually approved plan for payment.
Prospective candidates must establish contact with the relevant Faculty or Department at the Hebrew University, and ensure that there is a Faculty member willing to sponsor the application. We will not be able to process an application without a sponsor.
An academic sponsor does not simply agree to passively supervise your research from time to time while you are at the Hebrew University. We expect your sponsor to actively support your research proposal because it is of a nature that is closely connected to and compliments his/her own particular expertise, and opens up new areas of study which he/she would be interested to pursue. Therefore, the enthusiasm he/she can show in the letter of support to actively collaborate with you on your proposed research will indicate to the Academic Committee the importance he/she attaches to your proposed visit.
A sponsor must have the rank of Lecturer (or above) and he/she must be on the Regular Academic Track at the Hebrew University. An Emeritus Professor who is still actively participating in research at Hebrew University, and who wishes to act as a sponsor, should contact The Lady Davis office, which will submit his/her request to the Academic Committee for approval.
You may have more than one sponsor who is willing to support your application from the same Faculty/Department. If your area of research is inter-disciplinary, you must have at least one sponsor from each Faculty/Department. However, in any case, you may only submit ONE application and you will have to decide which Faculty/Department is your 'Major' and channel your application through that Faculty/Department.
Each sponsor is allowed only one candidate for each of the two different Fellowship levels. In other words the same sponsor may support one Visiting Professor and one Post-Doctoral Researcher in any one academic year.
A Sponsor may not be a referee at the same time for the same candidate and may not write a reference letter in addition to his/her letter of sponsorship either.
Please check that your sponsor is not supporting any other candidate at your level.
However if a candidate has been awarded an extension of an extra year to his Fellowship, that same sponsor may support a new candidate in the year of the extension.
There is no special form that a sponsor needs to fill out - a letter will suffice.
Please ensure that the sponsor clearly indicates that he/she has no plans to be either on Sabbatical or unpaid leave during the relevant year of the Fellowship.
The academic committee also requires the sponsor to assess whether or not the stated research can be completed in one year or whether there will be a need for an extension of one more year.
If you fulfill the minimum criteria for eligibility, please click on the link below to access the online application system.
(Applications will automatically be considered for various Hebrew University funds along with The Lady Davis Fellowship Trust fund.)
https://hss.ekmd.huji.ac.il/Pages/default.aspx
What the Fellowships are Worth (monthly amounts)
The following information includes the Period of each Fellowship, Return of Expenses (for Visiting Professors), Stipend and Rent Allowance (for Post-Doctoral Fellows):
Visiting Professorships: 2 or 3 months; NIS 10,000* (per month).
Post-Doctoral Researchers: 9-12 months for Lady Davis Fellowship awardees. The Hebrew University decides on the duration of its Fellowships according to the University funding sources for its awardees; NIS. 6,164 (per month); NIS 1,000** rental allowance*** (per month). The Lady Davis Fellowship Trust does not fund travel expenses to conferences, or any other expense not specifically referred to on this page.
* NIS 9,000 for an Associate Professor
** NIS 600 for single fellows
*** Providing you are renting a flat in Jerusalem or close to Jerusalem
In addition:
- The Trust will pay for a roundtrip flight from the fellow's country of origin to Israel and back again. Full details regarding the repayment of the flight will be included in the letter of appointment sent to the Fellow. Family members accompanying a Fellow will not be eligible for reimbursement of their flight expenses.
- Half of the medical insurance if purchased & paid for in Israel. In any case the Trust will not pay for insurance that exceeds the standard package paid for by a normally healthy person. The Trust will also NOT finance any extra medical insurance fees that are connected to pregnancy - those costs will have to be paid for by the Post-Doctoral Fellow.
For further details call Amos Gilboa at: Yedidim Insurance Agencies at: 052-325-0975 or via email at: y_health@yedidim.co.il
Amos will also be available every Tuesday between 11:30AM - 1:00PM in room 402 of the Rothberg School.
If you are awarded a Post-Doctoral Fellowship the Trust will expect you to send us
a health certificate IN ENGLISH ONLY (a one sentence statement from your Physician saying "that you are in general good health and are able to work"). We DO NOT need lab results.
If you have purchased your health insurance from Yedidim, a letter to that effect from them will be sufficient in place of a health certificate.
Stipends paid to Post-doctoral Fellows are considered grants by the Authorities in Israel and are free of any tax in Israel.
Deadlines and Useful Information
Deadline for Applications
For the academic year from October 1st, 2024 to September 30th, 2025:
Visiting Professorships Deadline:
November 30th, 2023
Post-doctoral Researchers Deadline:
December 31st, 2023
Post-doctoral Researchers (one year extension) Deadline:
December 31st, 2023
One Year Extensions
Post-doctoral researchers may request an extension of one year only to their Fellowships. The deadline for such an extension is as advertised above. There is no need to submit all the information again.
We will need:
- A letter from the candidate explaining the request for the extension.
- A supporting letter from the sponsor confirming the request for the extension which must include a written commitment to fund half the cost of the Fellowship (see the note below).
- Updated CV - Please be sure to include your current address and telephone number. Please do not simply send a photocopy of what you sent us the previous year. Your updated CV must at least include a line stating which Fellowship you were awarded, whether Lady Davis or otherwise.
- Updated List of Publications
Extensions are awarded to Post-Doctoral Researchers only if there is a written committment on the part of the sponsor, or the Department, or the Faculty to fund half the cost of the Fellowship.
Masters Degree Program
The Hebrew University does not offer Fellowships to students studying for a Masters Degree Program.
Deferments
Fellowships may not be deferred from one year to the next.
The Ranking Process
Lady Davis Fellowships are awarded after a rigorous academic review process. Candidates are ranked first at the Departmental level, and then at Faculty level. The Faculty rankings are reviewed by the Academic Committee of the Trust which decides who will receive a Fellowship.
The office of the Trust coordinates applications for other professorial and Post-Doctoral Fellowships available at the University. Thus, an application made to the Trust will automatically be considered for all the other Awards at the disposal of the Hebrew University. Consequently, the award of a Fellowship at these levels could be financed either by the Trust or by any other of the Funds at the disposal of the University. The official letter of appointment, sent to the Fellow by the Faculty Dean's office, will specify which particular award he/she has received. The terms and conditions of the awards, whether offered by the Trust or by the University, are completely identical.
The Fellowships are intended not only to promote an exchange of ideas and information, but also to cement personal relationships that will provide the basis for an ongoing academic liaison in the future.
Other Concurrent Fellowships & Employment
Fellows who have won another concurrent Fellowship must disclose this to the Trust, whereupon the amount of the award will be reviewed. As a general rule, a concurrent financial award similar to that offered by the Trust will probably entail transferring the Fellowship to another candidate. An award less than that offered by the Trust will probably entail an adjustment to the amount it will offer.
Post-Doctoral Fellows are expected to devote all their time to research. As a general rule, a Post-Doctoral Fellow must not engage during the period of the Fellowship in any employment whether paid or unpaid. Further details will be found in paragraph 11 of the rules for Post-doctoral Fellowships in the link below:
The Period of the Fellowship
Visiting Professors are expected to take up the Fellowship within the period of the Academic year for which they have applied - in other words, between the 1st of October and the 30th of September in the following year providing the period they have chosen is acceptable to their sponsor.
Post-Doctoral Researchers are expected to commence the Fellowship on the 1st of October of the year in which the Fellowship was offered and end it on the 30th of September of the following year. Attempts are made to be as elastic as possible should a Fellow expect to arrive before or after the 1st of October. However, an earlier commencement or a delay of over 2 months should be reported to the office of the Trust to ensure it is acceptable.
