HEC IRSIP - Application form for PhD students

All Pakistani nationals including AJK residents who are PhD students can now avail IRSIP fellowship abroad by downloading the application form and applying to the HEC International Research Support Program. The scholars can avail this 6-month research fellowship abroad who are already enrolled in PhD programs in Pakistan.

HEC IRSIP Application Form, IRSIP Application, HEC — HEC IRSIP – Application form for PhD students

Higher Education Commission of Pakistan is offering a six-month research fellowship abroad to those students who are enrolled in full-time PhD programs in Pakistan. This is providing exposure to the PhD scholars which will enhance the quality of research that they will be conducting in Pakistan. This opportunity also provides to develop linkages between Pakistani and foreign institutions.

The objectives of the IRSIP are:

To enhance the quality of doctoral research in Pakistan.
To create a critical mass of highly qualified manpower that could contribute towards the development of Pakistan.
To facilitate assimilation, absorption, and transfer of important and promising scientific and technological knowledge information to achieve repaid economic progress.
To provide opportunities to doctoral students for training/ research work at advanced research labs of reputed universities abroad and to interact with foreign scientists working at frontiers of knowledge.
To explore avenues for further collaboration internationally.
To introduce Pakistani talent globally.
To disseminate information about research in Pakistan.
To bring the standard of doctoral research at par with international standards.

ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR IRSIP Fellowship Abroad

AJK/Pakistani national who is full time PhD student
Completed coursework of 18 credit hours, at least.
Scholar is eligible to apply after 2 year of enrollment and maximum up to 3.5 years in PhD program.
Passed the local GAT subject test OR Univeristy Admission Test at the time of registration/enrolelment in PhD Studies/Program.
Who has an approved PhD research topic and synopsis by the Board of Advanced Studies and Research (BASR) or Directorate of Advanced Studies and Research (DASR) or equivalent body of the university
Who has an official acceptance/invitation letter for research from a foreign university/institute/ lab. The university/institute must be listed in top 200 universities list (either subject wise or over all ranking) as per Times Ranking of World Universities Or QS top universities ranking (topuniversities.com).
Your Foreign Supervisor should not be an ex-supervisor of your Local Supervisor.

IMPORTANT NOTE:

For Selection Committee Meetings after June 2013, upper world ranking limit of foreign university has been reduced to top 200 universities for the applicants from all disciplines Agriculture & Veterinary Science, Biological & Medical Science and Physical Science, Engineering & Technology, Social Sciences subjects.

Those Scholars who are already availing any other HEC scholarship are also eligible to apply provided they submit NOC from their concerned HEC dealing officer.

HOW TO APPLY

Submit application form, two copies, to the Project Director after filling as per instructions, along with the documents listed below.

Applications can be submitted round the year. Applicants are encouraged to apply as soon as they are eligible and fulfil the basic criteria.

Incomplete applications will not be entertained and will be discarded.

HEC IRSIP Application Form

—– Download IRSIP Application Form—–

Required Documents:

Application Set 1:

IRSIP Application form
Foreign university acceptance letter(s), in order of preference
CV of proposed foreign supervisor(s)
BASR/DASR approval showing approved PhD research topic and synopsis
PhD thesis synopsis (complete)
Local PhD supervisor recommendation letter
CV of local PhD supervisor
NOC from concerned HEC officer (if already availing any other HEC scholarship)
NOC from department/organization (if employed/ on study leave)
CV of applicant
Copy of passport
Copies of academic documents including PhD coursework transcript showing credit hours and grades obtained in each course.
Copy of GRE result certificate/card from ETS / NTS

Application Set 2:

IRSIP Application form
Foreign university acceptance letter(s), in order of preference
CV of proposed foreign supervisor(s)
PhD thesis synopsis (complete)
BASR/DASR approval showing approved PhD research topic and synopsis
Copy of GRE result certificate/card from ETS / NTS

Important Note:

The acceptance letter must be issued by the head of department/ senior professors. Acceptance letters issued by Lecturers, Lab Instructors/expert won’t be acceptable. The acceptance letter must include at least following:

Brief overview of work to be carried out during the foreign visit.
Brief details of research facilities available at foreign Lab.
Plan of research work/activities to be carried out at foreign university
Duration of research in months.
Bench fee amount if required. No claim of bench fee will be entertained if not mentioned in the original offer letter.
Terms and conditions of the invitation, if any.
Complete address, contact details (phone, fax, email) of the proposed foreign professor.
It is Mandatory to get filled in a performa from your foreign supervisor along with the acceptance letter. Download Foreign Supervisor’s Performa

This Performa of Foreign Supervisor must be attached with IRSIP Application form.

TERMS & CONDITIONS

Selected candidates will be required to enter into a bond with HEC to return and complete their PhD studies at their parent universities. (Click here to download specimen)

Selected candidates will have to avail the scholarship within six month from the date of issue of award letter or before any such date as specified by HEC. CNIC copies and official seals of witnesses are mandatory.

It is of utmost importance that the doctoral studies carried out in Pakistan are of a standard that is at par with any international reputed institution. This is only possible if candidates are provided with adequate support in research projects. The Fellowship package of IRSIP is a sunder:

Fellowship Package:

Travel allowance:

Economy class return airfare is provided up to Rs 150,000.00 for once.

Living allowance:

Living allowance for different countries:

Country	Living allowance per month
UK	£ 750.00
Austria, Germany, Netherlands	€ 975.00
Rest of Europe	€ 900.00
USA	$ 1500.00
Korea, China, Malaysia	$ 800.00
Rest of world	$ 1200.00

Bench Fee:

Maximum amount of bench fee allowed under IRSIP scheme in different currencies are given in the following table.

Currencies	Amount
US Dollar	$ 3500
Pound Sterling	£ 1750
Euro	€ 2550
Australian Dollar	$ 4100
Canadian Dollar	$ 3700

Important Note:

The bench fee is only awarded if it is de4manded in the acceptance letter at the time of selection. After selection any demand of fee will not be accepted. The bench fee will be paid to the University directly via wire transfer against the invoice of the amount as mentioned in the offer/invitation letter. The fee invoice must contains student/scholar name, Purpose & duration of visit and complete banking details of foreign university.

FEEDBACK PERFORMA

Click here to Download IRSIP Feedback Performa

When a scholar returns to Pakistan after availing IRSIP, he/she needs to submit the following documents:

IRSIP feedback Performa 1521_irsip-feedback-performa.doc
Foreign supervisor’s comments/progress report
Joining report endorsed by Head of Department at parent institution
A copy of passport pages which may show your Exit & Entrance

NOTE: If you are an Indigenous Scholar, then you need to submit a set of same documents at Indigenous Section, too.

STATISTICS

Higher Education Commission has attempted to strike a balance among different areas of need while selecting PhD students for this short term research support. The number of scholarships awarded to Arts, Humanities and Social Science subjects is on lower side due to low application turnover for these fields. However, enormous efforts are being made to encourage social researchers to apply for this scholarship so that they may be able to research deeply social values and their impact on society.

Agriculture, Biological sciences, Mathematics, Chemistry, Physics, Computer Sciences get the second place in the statistics below. However, scholarships awarded to engineering and business students are the lowest by the reason that either Pakistan has less number of PhD students in these fields or they don’t apply for the program

FAQS

Is there any last date or deadline for submission of applications?

There is no deadline or last date for submission of applications. Applicants can apply whole long the year as soon as they fulfill basic requirements of the scholarship.
How much time HEC requires for application processing and selection process?

It takes round about a month and a half to process the applications and declare results. Usually time span of 20-25 days is given to selected applicants to submit the required documents such as surety bond, bench fee invoice, and university account information etc. Following this, final award letters are issued.
How selection will be made?

HEC has established a Selection Committee for the selection of scholars under the scheme. The Committee consists of HEC officials, former VCs of known universities and prominent Researchers/ Professors of international repute from Pakistan. The Committee meeting is scheduled monthly to consider the pending cases.
Will HEC coordinate visa endorsement process for the selected scholars?

HEC will only provide award letter stating the financial support and other terms & conditions of the award. Scholars can use this as supporting document to apply for visa.
Will HEC pay visa fee?

HEC do not provide any amounts such as visa application fee, health insurance fee etc.
How funds will be released?

*No funds can be released in favor of the scholar before visa endorsement.
*Six month stipend is provided to the scholar in the form of Cross Cheque at once in advance before leaving.
*Bench/ tuition fees will be directly paid to the foreign university against an invoice raised by the university. Any amount over and above the fellowship package will be covered by the scholar himself.
*Air travel cost will be paid to the Travel Agency directly.
How much time HEC requires to release funds?

Advance stipend & ticket: 2-3 weeks
Bench fee: 4-5 Weeks
What are the progress report requirements of HEC?
Scholars will be required to submit progress report on their research work on Performa as prescribed by HEC. This report could be asked every two months, three months or at end of the research project as specified by HEC.
However, at the end of the project every scholar is required to submit detailed report on the six month work through foreign supervisor along with copies of research papers produced.
Can a PhD student avail the scholarship twice?
No PhD student can avail the scholarship for the second time