The Trustees of the Needham Research Institute, Cambridge (www.nri.org.uk) invite applications for a research fellowship, open to those intending to carry out research in original source materials relating to any topic within the broad field of the history of science, technology and medicine in China without limitation of historical period.
Applicants will be expected to hold the degree of PhD in a relevant area, and to be no more than three years from the time of the award of the degree at the time of taking up the fellowship. The fellowship is tenable at the Needham Research Institute, whose library offers unique facilities for research in the history of science, technology and medicine in East Asia, located within a short distance of the rich resources of Cambridge University Library. Scholars will be expected to spend most of their time in residence in Cambridge during their tenure. The fellowship will be awarded for one year in the first instance, renewable annually for up to a total tenure of three years, subject to satisfactory performance. The fellow will be provided with a stipend within the range £27,428-£35,788, which will be subject to UK taxation.
The primary purpose of the fellowship is to enable the holder to pursue academic research. A unique and valuable feature of this fellowship is however a link with The Independent Schools Foundation Academy (ISF Academy) in Hong Kong (http://www.isf.edu.hk/). The ISF Academy is an independent school with the mission to be “a community of learners, independent in thought and action, deeply rooted in Chinese culture, global in understanding and experience, and excellent in all endeavors.” As a condition of the tenure of the fellowship, the fellow will be expected to assist in arranging and delivering a short experiential programme each summer in Cambridge for a small group of senior students of the school, who will be accompanied and supervised by staff of the Academy, and to visit the Academy by arrangement two or three times a year for further short periods of contact with students. Applicants should therefore be able to demonstrate strong organisational skills. All expenses for visits to Hong Kong will be paid by The ISF Academy, who will also provide accommodation. While the fellowship holder is not expected to act as a professional educator, or to teach any formal courses, they must be prepared to interact positively with intelligent and energetic school students who will be pursuing individual research projects in the broad field of the history and culture of China. The ISF Academy requires its students to be bilingual in both English and Putonghua (Mandarin), and the fellowship holder should therefore be able to operate in at least one of these languages to native or near native level, and to have good communication capabilities in the other. During the fellow's time in Hong Kong, he or she will be offered academic hospitality at the Hong Kong Institute for the Humanities and Social Science (http://www.ihss.hku.hk/).
