SCPKU Team Innovation Faculty Fellowship Program

The Stanford Center at Peking University (SCPKU) offers team-based fellowships to Stanford faculty (members of the Academic Council, Medical Center Line faculty, and Active Emeriti) to spark creative, multi-disciplinary approaches to research in China focused on topics of key interest to Stanford, the U.S. and China.

Awards

SCPKU Team Innovation Faculty Fellowships provide support for up to $30K per team for “proof-of-concept” project expenses.  A campus-wide faculty advisory committee will determine awards based on the team’s proposed budget and SCPKU space availability. This program is open to all fields, disciplines, and schools. Those with existing research  related to China are encouraged to apply, but no familiarity with China is required. A key goal of the program is to provide seed funding to promote innovative multi-disciplinary collaborations within the Stanford faculty and student community focused on projects that will lead to relevant long-term research programs in China with clear and measurable impact.  Awardees are expected to spend the bulk of their fellowship period in Beijing and maximize their time at SCPKU. Teams will also be required to give a public talk at SCPKU to share their research.

All fellowships will include office space at SCPKU and on-site administrative support.  Funding may also be requested to support the following expenses for faculty:

• Lowest cost, upgradable economy-class airline ticket to Beijing
• Basic Beijing living expenses and incidentals (up to $200/day)

Supplementary funding may be proposed for:

• Lowest economy-class airfare to Beijing for Stanford post-doctoral or advanced graduate student collaborators to support the research project
• Basic Beijing living expenses for Stanford students (up to $90/day)
• Expenses associated with holding meetings, workshops, and conferences at SCPKU during the fellowship period

NOTE: SCPKU faculty fellowships do not provide support for travel outside of SCPKU/Beijing, salaries, or materials/supplies.

Eligibility

All Stanford faculty (members of the Academic Council, Medical Center Line faculty, and Active Emeriti) are eligible to apply; only the team’s PI submitting the proposal must have this status though all team members must be affiliated with Stanford.  A faculty advisory committee representing a cross-section of Stanford’s academic community will review all proposals and make selections.  In the selection process, the committee will look for projects with the following attributes:

• Topic of mutual interest to Stanford, China, and the U.S.
• Innovative and multi-disciplinary approach
• Potential to leverage local resources and collaborators (ability to show already-existing connections or efforts to do so a plus)
• Clear and measurable impact
• Plans to leverage/combine other funding (if applicable, teams are strongly encouraged to also consider applying for seed grants offered by Stanford's Office of International Affairs. See OIA's faculty funding website for the latest seed grants.)
• Promise of long-term sustainability with reduced reliability on SCPKU funding
• Time maximized at SCPKU
• Potential to generate synergistic activities at SCPKU before, during, and after project trip(s)

Other guidelines:

• 3 faculty team members maximum including PI; 2 faculty team members minimum
• 2 Stanford graduate students maximum per team; graduate students are not required to be part of team

Application Process

Applications should be completed and submitted online here.  Applicants will be notified when their applications have been received and award decisions will follow pending the faculty advisory committee's review.  Application materials will not be returned.

As part of the application process, faculty will indicate their team’s desired length of stay at SCPKU as well as a prioritized set of calendar windows they are applying for.  To best accommodate preferred calendar windows and optimize SCPKU space utilization, SCPKU encourages applicants to submit proposals to the earliest possible application review period.  Applicants must also identify an administrative assistant in his/her department who will help to facilitate travel, housing and other logistics with guidance from the SCPKU staff as needed.  Award packages will include comprehensive information about how to manage these logistics.

Review Cycles/Application Deadlines:

* January 15, 2016

* July 15, 2016

Fellowship Coordinator

Connie Chao
Encina Hall
Stanford University
(650) 721-2382 (voice)
cchao2@stanford.edu

Photo credit:  Steve Fyffe