The Matsumae International Foundation (MIF), through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Malaysia, would like to invite candidates from higher learning institutions to apply for the Matsumae International Foundation Fellowship Grant in 2010.

The application is open to non Japanese residents with PhD or equivalent qualification recognised by MIF. Applicants must be below 41 years old. Priority will be given to those who pursued courses related to natural sciences, engineering and medicine.

Closing date for application: 31 August 2009.

Further details are as follows:

The Matsumae International Foundation is a non-governmental organization. Its Fund is solely based on donations from many Japanese people who have responded with goodwill to Dr. Shigeyoshi Matsumae's call. While many donations have been kindly offered by enterprises and groups, most of the donors are individuals who are sympathetic with the Founder's ideals, and maintain contributions to the Fund from their limited incomes.

Every year, the Matsumae International Foundation (MIF) invites about 20 foreign researchers to Japan under the Fellowship Program of MIF. Through this program, MIF has so far granted research fellowships to 618 foreign researchers (mostly post-doc) from 110 countries since 1980. Applications for the fellowships for the period of April 2010 through March 2011 are now open. Successful applicants are urged to seriously consider and understand the goodwill of those persons, and ensure that the provided fellowships are utilized effectively.

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS
Applicants of non-Japanese nationality who meet all of the following eligibility requirements are invited to submit the required application documents.
1. Applicants must hold a Ph.D. (Doctorate) degree, or be recognized by the Matsumae International Foundation as possessing equivalent academic qualifications.
2. Applicants must be under 41 years of age at the time of application.
3. Applicants must have sufficient conversational ability in English or Japanese to prevent insurmountable difficulties during their research activities in Japan.
4. Applicants who have never been in Japan in the past and /or at present.
5. Applicants should have firm positions and professions in their home countries, and should return to their countries on completion of their fellowship stay by the Foundation.
6. Applicants who have previously been invited by the Foundation are not eligible for this fellowship program.
7. Applicants must be of sound health and not physically handicapped in any way whichwould not prevent from carrying out research in Japan.

FIELDS OF STUDY

Fields of study such as natural science, engineering and medicine are given first priority.

PERIOD & NUMBER OF FELLOWSHIPS

At the time of application, please indicate the length of your stay (between 3 to 6 months) from April 2010 to March 2011. The Foundation prefers long stays (such as six months) toshorter (such as three months). The number of fellowships given is about 20.

HOST INSTITUTION IN JAPAN

Applicants are free to select host institutions (university research laboratories, nationa lresearch institutions or the corresponding facilities of private industry) in which to carry out their research. However, applicants are cautioned that they are obliged to obtain acceptance from such host institutions prior to submitting their applications. The Foundation cannot give counsel or advice to an applicant concerning his/her host institution in Japan.

APPLICATION PROCEDURE

Applicants should obtain the current issue of the Fellowship Announcement from the Foundation. To obtain the announcement, write to MIF with name and address by postal mail, or by E-mail. Or, download the announcement in PDF-format file from the webpage of the Foundation and print out the Application Form.

The Foundation cannot entertain requests for waivers of the eligibility requirements and other conditions, listed in the Fellowship Announcement, and will not respond to such requests. Application must be submitted from the applicant's home country. Under no circumstances will an application be accepted from a person already in Japan. The Foundation never receives applications by Fax or E-Mail.

A complete set of application document is made of following nine documents:
- Application Form (fixed format) (please download the form in http://www.matsumae-if.org or email contact2mif@mist.dti.ne.jp for retrieving the form)
- The Research Project
- Complete List of Publications
- Reprint(s) of Most Important Publication(s)
- Personal History (Curriculum Vitae)
- Letter of Recommendation
- Certified Copies of Academic Certificates
- Invitation Letter by the Host Scientist
- Medical Certificate

Applications must be received by the Foundation by August 31, 2009, at the latest.

Please address all correspondence to:

THE MATSUMAE INTERNATIONAL FOUNDATION
4-14-46, Kamiogi, Suginami-ku, Tokyo,
167-0043 JAPAN
E-mail : contact2mif@mist.dti.ne.jp
URL : http://www.matsumae-if.org