Research To Strengthen 'Culture of Knowledge' - Third Edition

About the Programme

This capacity-building programme aims to provide an opportunity for full-time commitment for young researchers to research within the field of cultural studies. The program seeks to enhance the researchers’ skills, giving them guidance and access to accomplish their research project. The programme will probably be their first such venture following their academic studies. Experienced cultural researchers, who constitute the scientific committee of the programme, will directly supervise the projects. The programme’s annual course consists of three key phases: 1) Selection of young researchers and preparation of the training curriculum, 2) Training and skill enhancement, and 3) Completion of actual research supervised by experienced researchers.

The programme will focus on current topics in cultural research that are relevant to the situation in Syria, especially changes in the perspectives of Syrian artists with regard to their relationship with society and the transformations it is witnessing.

Phases of the programme

First – Open Call for Proposals (2 months): We announce an opportunity for young researchers – graduates of higher institutes and specialised universities working across the cultural, artistic, social and human sciences – to apply for the programme. The scientific committee, consisting of experienced researchers, will select 13 young researchers to participate in the programme.

Second – Training Phase (1 month), divided into two parts:

• General training on techniques and tools for scientific research
• Customised training on areas of cultural research and studies, and its defining characteristics and differences from research carried out in other fields.

Third – Grants and Research Completion (4 months): Instructors will supervise young researchers throughout their research projects. Only 10 of the 15 young researchers previously chosen to take part in the training phase will be selected to participate in this phase.

Fourth - Publishing

Ettijahat will publish a booklet in Arabic and English, including summaries of all completed research as well as researchers’ biographies, followed by a compilation of the best research documents published in a book. 

Terms of the programme and the application process

• We will accept application until the end of the day on 31^st August 2015. We will not accept any applications after that date.
• Application to the programme is open to all Syrian researchers, including Palestinian-Syrian researchers, aged between 22 and 35 years old.
• The programme is aimed at Syrian researchers, including Palestinian-Syrian researchers residing in Syria and Lebanon.
• Ettijahat does not accept and previously completed researches. Participants promise to submit research papers neither completed nor previously published.
• We will not consider incomplete applications, or those missing one of the necessary documents which we have requested (the electronically filled-in application form, the applicant’s resumé, motivation letter, electronic copy of ID card).
• Applicants are expected to attend the training sessions in full. They will be held in Beirut between one and two months after the date of the announcement of results. Participation in the training sessions is considered among the basic conditions of receiving the full research grant.
• We will not consider applications which do not condone to our administrative procedure and/or do not conform in term of content with the evaluation criteria.
• A committee of experienced researched (the Scientific Committee) will carry out the task of evaluating the submitted applications: names of the committee members will only be announced after the application evaluation period.
• Ettijahat- Independent Culture welcomes shared research projects. To submit such a project, complete one application form including the names of all participating researchers, in addition to their roles in the project. However, remember to treat these applications as one research project, regardless of the number of participants in the research.
• Participants will receive notifications of acceptance to participate in the programme when the results are published on the website,www.ettijahat.org.
• There will only be an announcement of the applicants accepted to participate.
• Ettijahat- Independent Culture and the participants both retain the right to use and publish completed research during and after completion of the programme.
• The participants retain full and complete intellectual rights to any research completed during the programme, and retain copyright on the condition that they cite Ettijahat-Independent Culture in any instance of use.
• For any further information or queries, please email us at research@ettijahat.org.

Evaluation criteria

The Scientific Committee base their selection of participants for the programme on the following criteria.

Participants will apply through a form that focuses on three basic aspects:

1.    Proposal of submitted research project:

• Quality of submitted research proposal
• The extent to which the proposal is connected with the needs of the cultural sector in Syria
• Availability of preliminary sources and necessary references to carry out the research

     2. Résumé of the applicant:

• Education
• Professional experience
• Age
• Good knowledge of a language other than Arabic, such as English, French, or any other language

     3. The motives behind participation:

·         The applicant’s ability to express the importance of his participation in the programme, linking it to their career and professional objectives, as well as their ability to associate the submitted research project with the needs of the independent sector

To read and download the booklet, which contains the researches summaries of the third edition of the programme, please click on the file below.

   Research Booklet 3rd Edition _En_