Hitachi Research Fellowship, Hitachi Scholarship Foundation, Japan

The Hitachi Scholarship Foundation (“Foundation”) provides the scholars and researchers in Southeast Asian countries with opportunities to conduct their post-doctorate and cooperative research in the field of science and technology at Japanese universities or research institutes under the following conditions.

1. Term of Fellowship
1-1 One (1) to three (3) months for a short-term fellowship
1-2 Six (6) to twelve (12) months for a long-term fellowship
* The fellowship begins on the day of the grantee’s arrival in Japan and ends on the day of departure from Japan. The fellowship cannot be extended.

2. Contents of Fellowship
The Foundation will support the following costs and expenses. No financial support is provided to his/her family or dependent.

2-1 For a short-term fellowship
1) Travel expenses: Economy class round-trip airfare between the nearest airport of the grantee’s university and the airport in Japan, the travel expenses between the airport in Japan and the place of grantee’s research affiliation, and the travel expenses to visit the office of the Foundation.
2) Maintenance allowance: ¥17,000 a day
* This rate is applied to the number of nights the grantee stays in Japan.
3) Research travel allowance: At cost but up to ¥100,000
* If the grantee wishes to receive this allowance, the travel plan and the recommendation letter of the Japanese host scientist should be submitted to the Foundation for review and approval in advance. This plan should relate to the proposed research.

2-2 For a long-term fellowship
1) Travel expenses: Economy class round-trip airfare between the nearest airport of the grantee’s university and the airport in Japan, the travel expenses between the airport in Japan and the place of grantee’s research affiliation, and the travel expenses to visit the office of the Foundation.
2) Arrival and return allowance: ¥60,000 each
3) Maintenance allowance: ¥270,000 a month
4) Research travel allowance: ¥100,000
5) Research allowance: ¥40,000
6) Housing allowance: At cost but up to ¥100,000 a month

3. Application and Selection
3-1 Eligibility and qualification of applicants
Only the faculty members, who belong to the universities invited by the Foundation and wish to conduct their post-doctorate and cooperative research in the field of science and technology except veterinary science at Japanese universities or research institutes, will be accepted as applicants. They have to satisfy the following requirements.
1) Ph.D. holder
2) Below 45 years of age (as of October 31, 2011)
3) Firm position or profession in the university

3-2 Application procedure
Application shall be endorsed by the President’s office of the university to which the Foundation has offered the fellowship award and submitted to the following address through the said office by October 31, 2011 using the registered mail. Neither personal nor direct application to the Foundation is accepted.

The Hitachi Scholarship Foundation
21F Akihabara UDX Building
14-1, Soto-Kanda 4-chome
Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 101-8010
Japan

Application shall be submitted with all the documents as required below and the application missing any of them will be automatically rejected. The Foundation reserves the right to request any other additional documents.

3-3 Documents required for application
The research plan should be discussed in detail with the host scientist in Japan before making application and reflected to the proposal in the application form.
The documents required are one (1) original and one (1) copy of
1) Type written Application Form along with 3cm x 4cm size photograph taken within the past 6 months.
2) Ph.D. Certificate
3) Letter of recommendation from the head and/or dean of the faculty to which the applicant belongs
4) Letter of acceptance from the host scientist with confirmation on the availability of research facilities and materials
5) List of publications by the applicant
6) Proposed schedule for the research
* The Foundation reserves the right to distribute a copy of the above documents to any person for the purpose of evaluation and selection. A copy of the above documents will also be distributed to the proposed Japanese host scientists of the finally selected applicants.

3-4 Method of selection
1) Preliminary selection
The Selection Committee of the Foundation will conduct preliminary selection based on the application documents.
2) Interview
The preliminary-selected applicants will be interviewed by the representative(s) of the Selection Committee of the Foundation at their universities.
3) Final selection
The Selection Committee of the Foundation will make final selection after the interview.

3-5 Criteria of selection
1) Support by the senior management of the applicant’s university on his/her post-doctorate and cooperative research
2) Academic performance and achievement by the applicant
3) Proposed plan and significance of research

3-6 Schedule of screening
End of October Deadline to accept application
November - December Preliminary selection based on the application documents
December - March Interview of preliminary-selected applicants at their universities
April - May Final selection
* The result of selection will be informed to the applicant through the President’s office of his/her university in June 2012, and the successful applicant is requested to come to Japan by the date agreed with the host scientist in Japan.

4. Preparation for Entry to Japan
The grantee is required to obtain a valid entry visa from Japanese embassy or consulate before coming to Japan.
4-1 For a short-term fellowship
The grantee is suggested to contact Japanese embassy or consulate to confirm the procedure, including the documents required, to obtain the visa.
4-2 For a long-term fellowship
The grantee is required to submit the following to the Foundation to obtain the Certificate of Eligibility which is necessary for his/her application of the visa.
It usually takes one (1) month to obtain this certificate.
1) A copy of passport
2) Three (3) copies of the photograph with 3cm x 4cm
3) Record of past entry into / stay in Japan (incl. number of times of entry)
4) Certificate of university staff
5) Ph.D. certificate
6) List of publications
7) Copy of “Letter of Award” issued by the Foundation

5. Visit to the Foundation
The grantee is requested to drop by the office of the Foundation in Tokyo before going to the place of grantee’s research affiliation. He/she is also requested to come to the office of the Foundation to report the result of research briefly on the way back to his/her home country.

6. Accommodation
The grantee is responsible for finding his/her accommodation.
As some universities and institutions have their own accommodations, it is recommended to inquire the host scientist about their availability.

7. Bank Account
The grantee is requested, to the extent applicable, to open an account at a Japanese bank upon his/her arrival and inform the Foundation of the bank account details sending a copy of bankbook.

8. Alien Registration (for a long-term fellowship only)
The grantee is required to apply for alien registration within ninety (90) days from the date of arrival in Japan at the municipal or ward office where the grantee resides.

9. Liaison
The grantee should keep close contact with the Foundation and keep them informed of any change of his/her address or other pertinent matters.

10. Report
The grantee is required to submit to the Foundation a report on his/her research and activities in Japan within one (1) month after completion of the fellowship.
When his/her research is presented for publication or dissemination, the Foundation’s support should be acknowledged in an appropriate way. A copy of such publication or offprint is requested to be sent to the Foundation.

11. Insurance
The Foundation will buy the following insurance for the period from the date of the grantee’s departure from his/her home country until the date of his/her return to his/her home country. However, illness contracted before the grantee’s arrival in Japan, chronic disease and dental care will not be covered.
1) Death from injury: ¥15 million
2) Treatment of injury: Up to ¥2 million
3) Death from illness: ¥2 million
4) Treatment of illness: Up to ¥2 million

12. Compliance with the Laws and Regulations
The grantee must abide by the laws and regulations of Japan.

13. Suspension or Termination of the Fellowship
The grantees of the Hitachi Fellowship Award must stay in Japan during the term of the fellowship and devote themselves full-time to their intended research. They shall not be employed in Japan with or without remuneration during the period of fellowship unless such employment has been specifically approved by the Foundation. The Foundation may withdraw this fellowship and terminate payments if it judges that the foregoing terms and conditions are not observed in good faith.

For more information, please visit official website: www.itb.ac.id.