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Mona Research Fellowship Programme

Table of Contents

Overview of the Scheme

The Mona Campus offers post doctoral research fellowships each year to full-time, permanent members of its staff. The Research Fellowship Programme is largely concerned with promoting and strengthening the economic, social and scientific development of the Caribbean. The Programme also facilitates research on issues of international importance that pushes the Campus’ academics to the cutting edge of new knowledge creation.

The aim of the scheme is to provide training, strengthen departmental research, and contribute to both postgraduate training and increased research output. Over the years, the programme has evolved into the Campus’s primary vehicle for the provision of well-needed research support.

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The Nature of the Award

The fellowship provides the salary and other remuneration such as a book grant and a study and travel grant for Research Fellows and Teaching Replacements for up to two years. Recipients of research fellowships can therefore choose to have a Research Fellow conduct the work on the approved research project, while they continue their teaching duties. Alternatively, they may elect to do their own research, and have Teaching Replacements assume their teaching duties during the time of the fellowship.

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Terms and Conditions

The Programme provides funding for 10 two-year research fellowships annually, when all research fellows and teaching replacements are employed at the lecturer level. However, the actual number of fellowships may vary from year to year in cases where some fellowships are only one-year in duration, or where the teaching replacements are hired at the research assistant, assistant lecturer or senior assistant lecturer levels.

  • Two-year fellowships are renewable on a yearly basis, with the extension for the second year being dependent on the approval of the Research Fellowship Committee following the successful completion of the first year.
  • The posts of research fellows should be advertised. However, given the relative scarcity of qualified individuals in specialized areas of research, holders of research fellowships may be allowed to assist the process of identifying suitable candidates.
  • The selection of a research fellow or teaching replacement is for one year. The employment contracts for these individuals will only be renewed for a second year if the application for a second year extension of the research fellowship has been approved.
  • Research Fellows are not required to teach, but are expected to share their findings in seminars/workshops with members of the academic community.
  • All recipients of Research Fellowships are required to acknowledge receipt of this form of research support in any publication emanating from the fellowship.
  • All intellectual property emanating from the fellowship will be held by the University of the West Indies, unless otherwise negotiated.
  • Research Fellowships may be withdrawn if:
    • recipients fail to produce deliverables;
    • recipients fail to acquire project inputs; or,
    • a research fellow or teaching replacement cannot be identified/hired.

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Applications for Research Fellowships

The following criteria have been developed to guide the process of selection of projects that will receive research fellowships:

  • Fellowships are awarded on a competitive basis and are limited to permanent full-time members of staff. These staff members can be from either the academic or senior administrative staff categories.
  • The application should take the form of a project proposal which follows the application guidelines specified by the Research Fellowship Committee. Applications should also include letters of support from both the applicant’s Dean of Faculty and Head of Department. Your application will NOT be considered in the absence of the letters of support from both the Dean of Faculty and the Head of Department.
  • The application should include a cover letter clearly indicating that the applicant is requesting a Mona research fellowship. This letter should be addressed to the Chairman of the Research Fellowship Committee, c/o The Office of the Principal.
  • Applications are reviewed, evaluated and assessed by the Research Fellowship Committee.
  • Applicants are first short-listed and those who are selected are interviewed by the Research Fellowship Committee.
  • The application may be e-mailed or submitted in print to the Office of Planning and Institutional Research. All letters of support with original signatures should however be delivered to that Office.

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Selection Criteria for Applications for Research Fellowships

  1. In the selection process, priority will be given to:
    1. applications submitted by staff members from departments and units that are funded from the budget of the Mona Campus;
    2. applications for research that involves interdisciplinary collaboration;
    3. applications for research in areas that are in line with the strategic objectives of the University of the West Indies;
    4. a.applications for research where funding for the project’s non-salary inputs have already been secured (applicants encouraged to utilize their Study and Travel Grant for this purpose or seek funding from other research funding entities to cover the costs of these non-salary inputs. Applicants will need to provide documentary evidence of the financial commitment from these entities);
    5. first-time applicants who have recently embarked on their research programme at the Mona Campus; and,
    6. seasoned researchers who wish to accelerate work on their research agenda or to embark on work that diversifies their research interests.
  2. Applications will NOT be accepted from persons who currently hold Mona Research Fellowships.
  3. Applications will be accepted from persons who completed previously held Mona Research Fellowships not less than three years before. However, these applicants must have submitted a final report on their previous fellowship for their application to be considered.
  4. Persons who have applied for or who have been granted Sabbatical leave will not normally, save in exceptional circumstances, be granted Research Fellowships.

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Administration of the Research Fellowship Programme

The Research Fellowship Committee meets 2 to 3 times annually to review and approve requests for new research fellowships and second-year extensions of ongoing ones.

The Committee comprises:

  • The Mona Campus Principal (Chairman)
  • The Deputy Principal (Deputy Chairman)
  • The Campus Registrar
  • The Deputy Bursar
  • The Campus Coordinator for Graduate Studies and Research
  • The Faculty Deans (4)

The Office of Planning and Institutional Research is responsible for the administration of the Research Fellowship Programme. The Human Resource Management Division is responsible for setting the terms of employment for Research Fellows and Teaching Replacements, as well as overseeing the process related to their actual hiring. The Bursary is responsible for salary disbursement.

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Number of Research Fellowships Granted From the Period of Inception, 1989–April, 2007

Some 136 fellowships have been granted since inception of the programme. As shown in Table 1, members of academic staff from all faculties at the Mona Campus have utilised the fellowships.

Table 1: Distribution of Research Fellowships across the Mona Campus for the Period, 1989-April 2007
Faculty/Department Number of Mona Research Fellowships
  Completed Ongoing To Commence Withdrawn/ Terminated/ Not Renewed Total
Humanities and Education 31 8 1 0 40
Medical Sciences 21 1 0 1 23
Pure and Applied Sciences 31 4 3 7 45
Social Sciences 19 4 0 1 24
Other Acad./Admin. Unit 3 1 0 0 4
Total 105 18 4 9 136

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Areas Studied Under the Programme

The areas studied under the Mona Research Fellowship Programme, are wide-ranging. Much of the research falls squarely in the realm of applied research, leading to the development of applications useful to many industries and also in programmes that enhance the nation’s comparative advantage in specific trade-related pursuits. In addition, the numerous publications emanating from the research have had the effect of not only adding to the general body of knowledge on regional issues but also guiding the decisions of the region’s policymakers.

A significant amount of the research conducted under the Research Fellowship Programme has received international acclaim and, consequently, has played an important part in reinforcing the reputation of the University of the West Indies as a centre for the generation of ground-breaking research.

Below are some of the research areas that have been studied over the years by researchers who have received support from the research fellowship programme:

  • Agriculture and Agro-Industry: Diseases in Papaya, Coconut and Vegetable Cultivation; Planting Materials for Yam; Alternative Types of Yam Sticks; Development of Nutraceuticals from Selected Plants; Xanthan Gum production.
  • Climate and Natural Resources: Environmental Management in the Caribbean; Impact of El Niño on Climate Variability; Biological Methods of Repairing Jamaican Coastal Reefs; Biodiversity Conservation Studies; Water Quality Studies; Mapping Jamaican Underground Water Supplies; Seasonal Forecasts of Rainfall in the Caribbean; The Modelling of Air Pollution in an Urban Area; Butterfly Research Project.
  • Community Health: Substance Abuse; Contribution of Senior Citizens to National Development; Tracer Studies on the Development of Selected Jamaican Youths from Birth to Adolescence; Motivational factors influencing participation of Youths in Sporting Activities.
  • Culture: Jamaican Popular Music; Conflict Talk and its Implications for Social (Dis)integration; African Sources of Jamaican Creole; Other influences of Selected African Cultures on Caribbean Culture; Impact of Marcus Garvey; Rastafari Studies; Studies on Caribbean Identity; Grammar and Lexicon; Study of Language Rights.
  • Education: Teaching of English Language and Literature in Schools; Primary and Secondary Curricula in Schools; Spanish Language Teaching/Learning; Bilingualism in Jamaican Primary Schools; Education and Information Resources and Services for the Hearing and Visually Impaired; Educational Management.
  • Economics and Finance: Development of the Banana Industry in the Windward Islands; Project Evaluation of Private Sector Infrastructure Projects; Institutional Role in Sustainable Tourism Development in the Caribbean; Worldwide Reforms of Customs Operations; Mathematical Modelling of Financial Systems; Study on Remittance Flows; Competitiveness of CARICOM’s Exports; Studies on Frontline Tourism Work; History and Performance of the Jamaican Financial Sector; Caribbean Economic Thought.
  • Governance and Diplomacy: CARICOM; Constitutional Issues of Caribbean Democracies; Small State issues.
  • History: Educational Policy; St. Kitts and Nevis; Spanish Town; Social History of Occupations in Jamaica; West Indian Missionaries in the Niger Mission.
  • Humanities: Philosophy in the West Indian Novel; Commonwealth Caribbean Literature for Children and Young Adults.
  • Information Technology and Communication: Caribbean Libraries and Information Studies; Use of the Electronic Media for Community Development.
  • Medicine: Diabetes; Cancer; Osteoporosis; Cardiac disease and its prevalence; Maternal Health issues; Caribbean Mental Health Delivery; A Paediatric and Perinatal HIV/Leadership Initiative in Jamaica.
  • Social Conditions: Crime and Violence, its types and effects; Migration Studies and Policies; Role of Fathers in Jamaican Family Life; Other Gender studies.

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