L’Oréal Australia For Women in Science Fellowships

 with the support of the Australian National Commission for UNESCO
endorsed by the Australian Academy of Science

The world need science… science needs women

Applications for the 2008 L’Oréal Australia For Women in Science Fellowships opened on 19 May and closed on 20 June 2008.

The three $20,000 Fellowships are intended to help early career women scientists to consolidate their careers and rise to leadership positions in science. The Fellowships are awarded to women who have shown scientific excellence in their career to date and who have an appropriate research plan that will be assisted by the one-year Fellowship.

Criteria for Eligibility

·         Application is open to post-doctoral researchers who completed their PhD since 20 June 2003 (NB: excluding maternity leave);

·         Applicants must be Australian citizens or permanent residents;

·         Applicants must be associated with an Australian-based academic or research institution, and must be intending to continue their research in Australia for the next 12 months;

·         Applicants must be women involved in the life sciences, material sciences, physical sciences, mathematics or engineering;

·         Applications will be considered only if they are complete and arrive within the deadline time.

Applications open on 19 May 2008 and close on 20 June 2008.

NB. Do not confuse the deadline for the L’Oréal Australia For Women in Science Fellowship with that of the UNESCO-L’ORÉAL Fellowship program, which is part of the international program. For more information on the international program see here.

How to apply

Applicants are asked to:

1.  Complete the application form online at www.scienceinpublic.com/loreal by midnight on 20 June 2008 - we recommend that you write a draft application first using the MS Word version of the form.
    

2. Email or post a three to five page CV that includes a brief summary of past research achievements and a list of research publications.
    

3. Email or post three letters of reference. One must be from your proposed mentor.  Other letters can come from a former advisor or persons knowledgeable about the applicant’s work and studies. These do not need to be “closed references”.
    

4. The CV and letters of reference should be emailed to loreal@scienceinpublic.com.au or posted to L’Oréal For Women in Science Fellowships, c/o Science in Public, 365 Esplanade Altona 3018. They must be sent by email by midnight on 20 June or, if posted, postmarked 20 June 2008.

Criteria for review

An inter-disciplinary jury of scientists will review all applications. The 2008 Jury comprises:

• Kurt Lambeck, Professor of Geophysics at the Australian National University and President Australian Academy of Science

•  Jennifer Ann Marshall Graves, Professor and Head of the Comparative Genomics Research Group at the Australian National University and L’Oréal -UNESCO For Women in Science Laureate 2006

• Suzanne Cory, Director, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research and L’Oréal -UNESCO For Women in Science Laureate 2001

• Cathy Foley, CSIRO Industrial Physics and President of the Australian Institute of Physics

• Vijoleta Braach-Maksvytis, Special Advisor to the Office of the Vice Chancellor,University of Melbourne and representative of the Australian National Commission for UNESCO

• Julie Campbell, Professor and Senior Research Fellow at the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, University of Queensland

• Georgia Chenevix-Trench, Professor and Senior Research Fellow at the Queensland Institute of Medical Research

 The jury will review all applications and select three Fellows based on:

·         intellectual merit/academic records/accepted requisites for scholarly scientific study including:

·         ability to plan and conduct research

·         ability to work as a team member or independently

·         ability to interpret and communicate research findings

·         scientific excellence and appropriateness of proposed research or a clearly articulated plan of study

·         reference letters.

The award

Three AU$20,000 fellowships will be awarded. Candidates will be permitted to attain matching grants or supplemental fellowship grants if they do not prohibit or pose a conflict in acceptance of the L’Oréal Australia For Women in Science Fellowship.  The Australian Fellowships may not be deferred nor renewed.  Awardees will receive the funds in two-part payments: the first at the award ceremony and the final payment six months later.

L’Oréal Australia reserves the right not to award one or more of the For Women in Science Fellowships.

The Fellowships are intended to help finance the scientific research of the Fellows.  The Fellowship funds can, for example, be used for equipment and reagents/consumables, and for travel expenses including the cost of attending conferences. The funds may also be used for child care but not for any other personal costs. The Fellowship may not be used to supplement the applicant's salary, other than in exceptional circumstances.

Successful Fellows will be advised in writing of their successful submission.  They will be invited to Melbourne prior to the Award Ceremony to undergo a media training session. This is not compulsory but is highly recommended.

The Fellowships will be announced in late August 2008.

The three Fellows will be expected to attend an Award Ceremony to be held in Melbourne during the week of 25 August 2008. Jury members and representatives from the Australian National Commission for UNESCO and the Australia Academy of Science will be invited to the ceremony, together with relevant government officials, academic or research institutions, science and general media, and the Fellows’ family and friends. L’Oréal Australia will cover the cost of travel to Melbourne and accommodation (if required) for the successful Fellows. The first payment, equal to half of the Fellowship funding, will be made at the ceremony.

Six months after receiving their Fellowships, recipients are expected to submit a status report on their research projects, including the value of the Fellowship and a reconciliation of funds spent. This report will be forwarded to L’Oréal and the jury members for review. The second payment will follow receipt of this report.

At the conclusion of the Fellowship in August 2009 a final report should be submitted including a summary of the Fellow’s achievements during the Fellowship year, the value of the Fellowship and a reconciliation of funds spent. The report should be submitted to L’Oréal within one month of the completion of the Fellowship and will be forwarded to jury members for review.

During the Fellowship period, Fellows will be expected to act as advocates for women in science in Australia. They may be asked to attend events in Australia on behalf of L’Oréal, and where possible be available for interviews and similar opportunities.

Exceptions

If for exceptional reasons you don’t meet one or other of the guidelines, and you still wish to apply, please note your circumstances in the application in your candidate’s statement.

General enquiries: please contact the people and organisations mentioned in our media releases

Media: for more information please contact Niall Byrne, Science in Public, niall@scienceinpublic.com.au, ph +61 (3) 9398 1416.