ECIS Fellowship Grant Guidelines

For the Advancement of International Education

ECIS has instituted a Fellowship Grant as a means of providing recognition and financial incentives to selected
recipients for work towards the advancement of international education. Stipends of up to a maximum of
3,000 each may be awarded annually to individuals or groups who are selected. Successful applicants will
have support and guidance from a designated member of the Professional Development Committee or other
international educator.
GUIDELINES FOR FELLOWSHIP APPLICANTS
Fellowship stipends will be awarded for the purpose of enhancing international education. With this in mind
candidates should submit a proposal for a project that will be applicable to and easily used by other
international educators and which is formatted so that it can be readily duplicated by ECIS. Experience
indicates that most fellowship projects require substantial amounts of time and effort and completing a
fellowship project within one academic year can be a real challenge.
Fellowship applicants are requested to carefully read and adhere to the eligibility criteria and all of the
following guidelines. Each project must
1. include a clearly stated, focused purpose and expected outcome(s) which will be applicable and
of benefit to a significant sector of the international education community. (The project must
impact upon more than an individual school.)
2. be completed in a format that is both appropriate to the project and publishable so it can be
duplicated and made available to others. For this reason candidates will need to provide a
comprehensive description of the expected format of the completed project.
3. contain specific, realistic procedures/activities. It will need to include such things as the
proposed means and instruments for collecting and comparing data; identified sample
populations of schools, teachers, and/or students that will be impacted; and timelines for
accomplishing various tasks and objectives.
4. include review/evaluation procedures. It must be reviewed by both the applicant and the
designated mentor/supervisor both at the mid-point and at the conclusion of the project. The
evaluation feedback must clearly indicate to the ECIS Professional Development Committee
what relevance and impact this project has (or will have) on international education.
5. constitute original concepts, research, and/or ideas or appreciably enhance a project already
underway.
6. be undertaken and completed within an approved time line, ordinarily within one academic
year.
It must be understood that all projects, materials, publications, inventions, reproductions, and corresponding
copyrights, patents, profits and royalties that are generated as a result of this fellowship programme become
the sole property of ECIS which will use its own discretion in the determination to use, publish, promote, sell,
rent, lease, give away or dispose of all or part of the materials at the present or at any time in the future. No
material that is already under copyright should be included in the fellowship project unless appropriate
written permission from the holder of the current copyright is included.

The Professional Development Committee appointed by the ECIS Board of Directors will review all fellowship
proposals and select the award recipients. Notification will be sent to all applicants by the last week in July.
Applicants must complete the online ECIS Fellowship Application in its entirety and submit it by 31 May to be
considered for the subsequent academic year. The applicant is responsible to ensure that the entire
application is complete upon its submission. Incomplete applications or those not conforming to the
requirements for submission will not be considered. The programme is administered by the Executive Officer
and the ECIS Secretariat.
Unfortunately submitted applications cannot be returned to candidates; therefore, it is suggested that
applicants keep a copy of their entire application and all supporting documents and exhibits.
The programme is overseen by the ECIS Executive Director and the ECIS designated staff. Please note, we will
only accept the online application. The deadline is 31 May of each year.
ELIGIBILITY
Only professional educators employed at schools or institutions that are current regular members of ECIS
are eligible to apply for a fellowship grant. All projects must be undertaken in conjunction with an
institution, a group of schools (formally or on an ad hoc basis), or a designated segment of the international
education community, e.g. teachers of a specific discipline or year group/grade level. It is understood that the
project for which a fellowship grant is awarded will be undertaken and completed in affiliation with the
member institution even if the recipient is on sabbatical or other leave of absence.
Applicants must have demonstrated exemplary skill in the field of education. Applicants must provide a
professional resume/CV (using their own format, or on the form provided) and at least two professional
letters of reference (on the forms provided in the application guide and the online application) which address
the applicant's knowledge of the project subject matter as well as organisational and communication skills.
One of these references must be from the applicant's current, immediate supervisor and one from another
administrator or professional with knowledge of the applicants ability to undertake the projected project.
Forms are provided in this application guide and the online application for this purpose.
Each applicant must obtain the written approval of the head of the affiliated institution (or in the case of an
applicant who is the head of the institution, the approval of the head of the governing board or comparable
authority). An approval form is provided in the application guide and the online application for this purpose.
Award recipients will be expected to bear the responsibility for completing the project as approved, subject to
any particular conditions of the award. Failure to complete the project as agreed, could result in the recipient
being required to return all or part of the fellowship award.
STIPEND
Each fellowship stipend will be of an individually determined amount, not exceeding 3,000, based on the
merits of the proposal and projected costs expected to be incurred. One third of the stipend will be paid at the
beginning of the project, one third upon receipt of a satisfactory written mid-term evaluation, and the final
third upon successful completion of the project, according to the agreed conditions. Receipts for expenses
actually incurred (as proposed/budgeted in the fellowship application) must be submitted to the ECIS
secretariat upon completion of the project (or sooner), but prior to the release of the final stipend payment.

ECIS Fellowship Grants

Guidelines for Designated Mentors/Supervisors
1.
The ECIS Professional Development Committee will appoint a mentor/supervisor to guide and assist
each fellowship recipient in:

completing the assigned project to a high standard of quality and relevance for
international education.

meeting the interim and final deadlines.

ensuring that the finished product responds to ECIS requirements regarding

reproducibility and availability to interested ECIS individual members and member
schools.

2.

The mentor/supervisor should have a suitable knowledge of the subject chosen by the
fellow and should also be fully conversant with the ECIS Fellowship Guidelines.

3.

The mentor/supervisor and Fellow should exchange initial communication before the end of June
following notification of the award. At this stage they should establish a schedule for the project and
for their future interaction. They should also clarify the target expectations for the final product format.

4.

The mentor/supervisor and Fellow should contact one another at least once every two months during
the duration of the project.

5.

The Fellow must supply the mentor/supervisor at regular intervals with samples of the material being
produced. In particular, the supervisor should receive a draft of the material produced to date before
the second instalment of the fellowship grant is awarded.

6.

Payment of the second instalment will be subject to ECIS receiving a satisfactory mid-term progress
appraisal of the project. This appraisal is the responsibility of the mentor/supervisor.

7.

Upon completion of the project, the mentor/supervisor must submit a written final evaluation critique
of the project to ECIS and to the Fellow. Final payment will be subject to a satisfactory appraisal; and
the project may be extended until it has met the criteria as stated in the original proposal and as
agreed in 1a) above. (The project should be vetted by a second person before being published by ECIS).

8.

The mentor/supervisor must notify ECIS at any stage in the project if there is a well-founded belief that
the product is not being completed as initially planned.

Please submit in its entirety the complete application which includes:

Four-part Online Application Form for ECIS Fellowship Grants:
o General Information
o Project Information
o Project Budget
o Project Timeline
Current professional resume/CV
Reference Form No. 1 (To be completed by the applicants immediate supervisor.)
Reference Form No. 2 (To be completed by an administrator or professional with knowledge of
the applicants potential for completing the proposed fellowship project.)
Chief Executive Officer Approval Form
Other exhibits as applicant deems appropriate

ECIS Fellowship Grant

PROFESSIONAL REFERENCE 1
Reference No. 1: To be completed by the applicants immediate supervisor
Name of Applicant
School/Institution

To the supervisor:
The applicant named above is applying for an ECIS Fellowship Grant in international education. It would be
appreciated if you would discuss the proposed project with the applicant and then provide your assessment
(in the space provided below) of the applicants fitness to undertake and successfully complete the
proposed project. It would be helpful if you would specifically address the applicants knowledge of the
project subject matter, as well as his/her organisational and communication skills. Thank you for your
assistance.

Your Assessment

Name
Job Title
Signature
Date

ECIS Fellowship Grant

PROFESSIONAL REFERENCE 2
Reference No. 2: To be completed by an administrator or professional with knowledge of the applicants
potential for completing the proposed fellowship project
Name of Applicant
School/Institution

To the supervisor:
The applicant named above is applying for an ECIS Fellowship Grant in international education. It would be
appreciated if you would discuss the proposed project with the applicant and then provide your assessment
(in the space provided below) of the applicants fitness to undertake and successfully complete the
proposed project. It would be helpful if you would specifically address the applicants knowledge of the
project subject matter, as well as his/her organisational and communication skills. Thank you for your
assistance.

Your Assessment

Name
Job Title
Signature
Date

ECIS Fellowship Grant

HEAD APPROVAL FORM
Applicant/Sponsors Name
School/Institution

The applicant or teacher sponsor named above is applying for an ECIS Fellowship Grant. It would be
appreciated if you would discuss the proposed project with the applicant and complete the bottom of this
form as indicated. Please return the completed form to the applicant for inclusion in the Fellowship
Application.
I have read the ECIS Fellowship guidelines and eligibility criteria and attest that the applicant is able to
comply as stated. Please tick as appropriate
YES
NO
The applicant/student group has my approval to undertake this proposed Fellowship project. Please tick as
appropriate
YES
NO

Any conditions?
Does the applicant have
sabbatical, released time, or
other leave available to
work on the project?
Name
Job Title
Signature
Date