Visiting Iraqi Scholarship Programme

The Visiting Scholarships Scheme enables academics, PhD students, cultural heritage professionals, and NGO workers to visit to conduct research at a UK host institution for 1-2 months on the sustainable development of cultural heritage. Scholarships may involve travel to the UK or be undertaken online in Iraq, via Zoom or other technologies. 

The Visiting Scholarships Scheme is intended to strengthen research capacity in cultural heritage, history and the humanities and their role in the sustainable development of Iraq. In all fields, we seek to support research applications of the highest quality and standards that will lead to significant advances in creativity, insights, knowledge and understanding. They must be of interest and value both to the research community and in wider contexts where they can help to achieve the scholarships aims.

Eligibility Advice

• You cannot normally be a previous recipient of a or BISI or Nahrein Network Visiting Scholarship. 
• You should be a resident of Iraq (including KRI) though we may consider exceptions.  
• We may ask you to take an English language test because a working-level of English language is needed in order to benefit from the scholarship. 
• The Scholarship Scheme funds research related activity and not the restoration or conservations of buildings sites or collections, or archaeological fieldwork. We cannot fund work that directly involves children. The scholarship is designed to support the intellectual aspects of cultural heritage in the sustainable development of Iraq. 
• Applications without a UK host will not be considered. 
• Applicants must have an active Iraqi bank or savings account at time of application.

Current employer/university

Your current employer (or university if you are a PhD student) must send us a letter or email (in English, Arabic or a Kurdish language) giving you permission in principle to apply for this scholarship and permission to take leave if this scholarship is awarded.

UK Host Institution

You are encouraged to contact a suitable UK Host Institution to discuss your research proposal before submitting this application. Your UK host must issue you a letter or send a formal email to you confirming their invitation for the proposed project, timeline, and fees. A copy of this letter/email should be added as an appendix to your application PDF. You may use the ‘Example of letter to UK Host Institution’ attached in this application. BISI will assist you in this process if you ask us at least three weeks before the deadline.

Summary Curriculum Vitae

Please provide a summary of your Curriculum Vitae using the table below.

Details of project proposal (500-1,000 words)

Please describe your proposed project in no more than 500 - 1,000 words. You may use images or infographics. You should explain:

Example of Letter to UK Host Institution

Applicants can adapt the following letter to contact a UK Host Institution: 

Dear XX

I am writing to you to enquire about your possible interest in supporting a Visiting Scholarship application to The British Institute for the Study of Iraq. 

The title of my research is XX and I am interested in your supervisory support as a UK host to support my application. I am a researcher/PhD student/cultural heritage professional at XX.  

The aim of my visit to the UK/online placement would be to carry out research into XX. I attach a detailed proposal to this email. 

The Visiting Scholarship Scheme will cover the costs of travel and accommodation (for UK placements only) and other associated expenses. 

You can read more about the Visiting Scholarships Scheme via https://www.bisi.ac.uk/grants-scholarships/nahrein-network-bisi-visiting-iraqi-scholarship-scheme/

If you do decide to offer to act as host, I will require it in writing and it should include information on bench fees (where appropriate), either as an email or a letter, to attach to my application. 

I very much look forward to hearing from you soon. 

Yours,

Assessment Criteria

Applications will be assessed in accordance with the following criteria:

• Whether the work is important 
• Qualifications and experience of the applicant to produce research 
• The quality of the proposed research
• Whether the timetable is realistic for this work 
• The appropriateness of the UK host
• Whether the proposed outputs are appropriate and manageable

Terms and Conditions

• We cannot guarantee that your application will be successful, even if we have provided support in preparing it. 
• If you are awarded a scholarship, we will send you a Letter of Award and Visiting Scholars Agreement Form. You must sign and return the Agreement Form within two weeks of receipt in order to be awarded the Scholarship.
• You will need to take up the scholarship within 12 months of the offer being made.
• The grant is awarded and administered by the British Institute for the Study of Iraq (BISI).
• Once the Award Letter is signed and returned, BISI will offer advice on obtaining visas, travel and accommodation. 
• BISI reserves the right to withdraw any scholarship offered.
• We may get in touch with you by phone or online voice call to discuss your application.   
• The proposal and project timeline submitted by the applicant might be subject to change or update by the BISI, but should not be updated by the scholar without prior agreement with BISI
• For visa purposes, the applicant must have an Iraqi bank account in which they receive their salary or use for savings

Equal Opportunities

The British Institute for the Study of Iraq is committed to eliminating unlawful discrimination and promoting equality of opportunity and good relations across and between the defined equalities groups in all of their relevant functions. Accordingly, no eligible scholarship applicant should receive less favourable treatment on the grounds of: gender, marital status, sexual orientation, gender re-assignment, race, colour, nationality, ethnicity or national origins, religion or similar philosophical belief, spent criminal conviction, age or disability.  Equally, all applications will be assessed on equal terms, regardless of the sex, age and/or ethnicity of the applicant. Applications will therefore be assessed and graded on their merits, in accordance with the criteria and the aims and objectives of the scholarship.