Fulbright grants, Greek Scholars

Visiting Scholars

REGISTRATION PERIOD:
Tuesday, September 3, 2013 – Friday, November 1, 2013
No registrations will be accepted beyond November 1, 2013

EMBARK ONLINE APPLICATION SUBMISSION DEADLINE:
Friday November 22, 2013
No applications will be accepted after November 22, 2013

Please carefully read all below instructions before registration

Recruitment for all educational exchange programs is based on open, and fair national competition, and on individual merit and academic excellence. Transparency in the selection process is assured. Fulbright Greece is fully committed to recognizing the inherent dignity and worth of every person, and to the provision of equal rights and opportunities. 

Overview and Guidelines

The Fulbright Foundation in Greece will award up to seven partial grants (depending on available funding) to Greek professors/researchers to lecture and/or conduct research at universities or research centers in the United States. Fulbright grants are awarded for a minimum of three months. Recipients may continue their project under the Fulbright auspices for up to six months (maximum eligible period) only if funding from sources other than the Fulbright Foundation is obtained.  In that case, proof of funds is required. The grant period may begin as early as September 15, 2014 and must be completed by May 31, 2015. The grant period cannot be divided and may be conducted at a maximum of two universities or research centers. Candidates are selected on the basis of academic excellence, professional experience, career potential, civic engagement, and ambassadorial qualities. All awards are subject to the Fulbright Foundation policies in compliance with the Foreign Scholarship Board (FSB) guidelines and all governmental regulations regarding visas, immigration, travel and residence.

Awards are open to scholars in all fields and applicants must arrange their own affiliation/invitation in the United States. Applicants should allow enough time to secure and establish an affiliation with an educational institution that will host them during their Fulbright grant period. Furthermore, applicants are encouraged to look for lecture opportunities within their host institutions. The Foundation looks for well-defined/sustainable projects that are innovative, that will have an impact in their respective areas, and that may lead to future collaborations between the United States and Greece. 

Fulbright Awards offer financial support for research/lecturing/teaching in the US. However, Fulbright is much more than a scholarship – we offer scholars the opportunity to have a transformative cultural and academic experience and provide unrivaled support both during and after their Fulbright year.

Alumni Speak:
My stay at Harvard was very rewarding both in academic, but also in personal terms. I had the opportunity to interact closely with colleagues working at the forefront of biomedical sciences and also join them in social activities outside the lab. I enjoyed three months in an intellectually rich and highly challenging environment where I not only received strong intellectual stimuli, but also conveyed the message that such cutting-edge research may be performed in Greece. This was highly appreciated by my colleagues in the US, especially at the present difficult financial climate.

Rebecca Matsa, Hellenic Pasteur Institute, 2010-2011 Fulbright Visiting Scholar, Neurobiology, Harvard University, Cambridge

While a Fulbright Award is up to six months in length, the benefits do not end there. Receiving a Fulbright Award opens many doors and provides unparalleled global networking opportunities.

Carefully review the selection criteria, minimum eligibility requirements, and Terms and Conditions relating to the category for which you intend to apply before moving to the first step, your registration. 

You can locate answers to most frequently asked questions (Q&As):http://www.fulbright.gr/questions.html#Greek

Eligibility Requirements

• Greek citizenship and a valid Greek passport. Candidates with dual citizenship (U.S./Greek) or permanent residence in the United States are not eligible.


• A Ph.D. degree followed by a minimum of four years of professional experience in the field of study.


• Official letter of invitation/affiliation from the U.S. university/research center which will include: statements from the head/director of the Department and of the professor with whom the applicant plans to work endorsing the applicant’s visit to the U.S. institution and stating that the proposed project can be completed within the time frame specified. US institutes must declare if there are minimum funding requirements for hosting research scholars.


• Excellent command of the English language.


• Preference will be given to mid-career scholars below the age of 55 at the time of application.


• Preference will be given to candidates whose country of permanent residence is Greece.


• Preference will be given to qualified candidates who have not had substantial recent experience in the United States that is, for a period aggregating more than one academic year (nine months) during the past five years for study, teaching, research or employment.


• Scholars who have already begun their research or teaching activities or who have been physically present in the United States on a J-1 visa for more than 6 of the 12 months preceding the start date of their Fulbright grant are not eligible to apply.

Grant Benefits

• Monthly maintenance allowance of up to U.S. $2,500.


• Round trip travel allowance according to Fulbright Travel Policies & Regulations.


• Limited health and accident insurance (for grantee only). All participants will receive the Department of State's health insurance coverage (A+SPE) of $100,000 with $15 co-pay per medical visit for the duration of the program. Pre-existing conditions are not covered.


• Pre-departure orientation session.


• Participation in the Annual Awards ceremony.


• Fulbright Certificate of Award.


• J-1 Exchange visitor visa  http://j1visa.state.gov/


• Other benefits and opportunities offered by the cooperating agency in the United States, the Council of International Exchange of Scholars (CIES)http://www.cies.org, such as the Occasional Lecturer Fund (OLF).


• Membership in the online global community for all participants of U.S. government sponsored exchange programs (such as the Fulbright program). International Exchange Alumni website
  
  

Alumni Speak:
Although I did not directly interact with students due to the limited period of time available for conducting and completing my research project, I am already making efforts to implement the knowledge I have attained in the Department of Animal and Human Physiology at the School of Biology in the University of Athens in Greece. This will benefit the students attending our courses. Furthermore, the 3 month stay will hopefully lead to a long lasting collaboration between the two institutions, further advancing exchange of ideas and scientific progress.  Furthermore, the new techniques I have learned will potentially help me to ameliorate the quality of the research conducted in our home laboratory, enabling publications in high impact factor scientific journals. In addition to this, due to the inspiring conversations and lab meetings I attended, I will make an effort to pursue new ideas as well as existing ones from a different perspective. This will also favour submission of grant proposals in new fields of cardiovascular biology. Overall, I have gained an immense benefit from this experience and will therefore wholeheartedly encourage students as well as colleagues to apply for an international exchange and pursue a Fulbright foundation grant.

Ioanna Aikaterini Angeli, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, 2010-2011 Fulbright Visiting Scholar, Biology, University of Cincinnati, Ohio

Terms and Conditions

• Registration before application is mandatory.


• A U.S. based Fulbright Peer Review Committee will review and evaluate the project proposals.


• Candidates might get invited to the Athens office for a personal meeting.


• The Fulbright Foundation's Board of Directors will nominate candidates and review or re-evaluate grant eligibility should the institutional invitation/affiliation change.


• All candidates selected for a Fulbright grant are required to submit a medical history and examination report before their grants can be finalized.


• Fulbright grant recipients will be responsible for making their own travel arrangements in accordance with Fulbright Travel Policies & Regulations.


• Projects should be implemented from September 1, 2014 to May 31, 2015.


• Awards cannot be deferred to the following year.


• Fulbright grant recipients must travel on a J-1 visa sponsored by the Fulbright Program. It is a condition of the visa that after completion of the research program, scholars must return to Greece and reside there for two years before being eligible to immigrate or apply for permanent residence or a work permit in the United States. The purpose of the two-year home residency requirement is to ensure that exchange visitors return to their home country and fulfill the exchange objectives of the Fulbright Program to broaden and strengthen mutual understanding between Greece and the United States. More information on J1 visa issues can be located at http://j1visa.state.gov/


• Fulbright scholars cannot return to the United States under the professor or research scholar category for 24 months following the conclusion of the Fulbright grant. However, they can travel to the U.S. for personal reasons (tourism), conferences, etc. 
  

Alumni Speak:
Another important aspect of my stay in the U.S.A. has been the experience of living in New York City, an experience I was lucky enough to share with my family (that is with my wife who is an artist working in the photographic medium and with my 6 year old son). Living in NYC is a mind opening experience. And it is not only visiting galleries and museums. It’s much more than that. Taking the subway, jogging by the Hudson River, walking in the Central Park are experiences that take the word ‘culture’ to another level, that of daily life.

Konstantinos Ioannidis, Athens School of Fine Arts, 2012-2013 Fulbright Visiting Scholar, Art History, Rockefeller Archive Center & The Museum of Modern Art, New York

For a listing of all the scholarships awarded during the previous years, please visithttp://www.fulbright.gr/grantees_gr.html. Each year, recipients are posted on the website by late June.

Registration and Application Procedures

Registration will begin SEPTEMBER 3, 2013 and conclude NOVEMBER 1, 2013.

You can either register online or request a registration form. The online link will be activated and forms will be distributed from September 3 onwards.

For registration forms, please contact:
Greek Program Coordinator, The Fulbright Foundation
6 Vassilissis Sofias Avenue, 106 74 Athens
Tel.: 210 724 1811 or 210 724 1812, ext. 203
e-mail address: greekprogram@fulbright.gr

Online Embark Fulbright Application Procedure

Following successful registration, applicants will be given a link to complete the online Embark Fulbright application in English. Applications which have been submitted without prior registration will not be accepted. When you begin your application, the system will ask you to confirm that you are eligible for this award.

The Fulbright Foundation accepts ONLY online Embark Applications. Faxed or e-mailed or mailed copies of applications will not be accepted.

The following documents must be completed/ uploaded in the Embark online application:

• Online application form.


• Detailed Curriculum Vitae and List of Publications.


• Within the Project description please include a statement of how the applicant’s proposed project and presence in the United States would promote the “mutual understanding” element of the Fulbright Program and the development of educational collaborations between the United States and Greece.


• Research Methodology not to exceed five single-spaced pages that clearly details the background, methodology, and objective of your project and its relationship to the objectives of the Fulbright Program.


• Official letter of invitation/affiliation from the U.S. institution the applicant plans to attend.


• Three letters of reference are requested as part of your Fulbright application.  All candidates should register their referees to the Embark system. All candidates should inform their referees that they will need to provide online to the Embark system their letter of reference the latest by  November 11, 2013. All letters should be written in English. The letters of reference should be written by professors with whom you have studied or pursued research or by someone who has supervised you in work related to your proposed field of study. Please ensure that both pages of the form are completed.


• Scanned copy of your passport as well as scanned copy of any valid US visa issued within the last 4 years.


• Signature Form: Upon submission of your online application you must print out, sign, and email this form (the very last page of your online application before submission) to your Fulbright Program Coordinator (greekprogram@fulbright.gr) in order to include in your file.

Important dates for 2014-2015 Fulbright Awards for Visiting Scholars

REGISTRATION PERIOD:
Tuesday September 3, 2013 - Friday November 1, 2013

ELECTRONIC APPLICATION SUBMISSION DEADLINE:
Friday November 22, 2013

*The Fulbright Foundation will remain closed from December 24, 2013 to January 6, 2014