AXA - Research Fund

FGS / Feinberg Graduate School
RGP / Research Grants and Projects Office

HOMEPAGE ON THE INTERNET: Access the AXA Website

AWARD MECHANISM: The fellowship award is up to €120,000 for 2 years.

SCIENTIFIC AREAS: The Post-Doctoral work financed by the Fund must fall within the scope of one of the following themes:

• Life risks
• Aging and long term care
• Biomedical risk
• Addictions and risky behaviours
• SocioEconomic Risks
• Geopolitical risks
• Macro-economic and systemic financial risks
• Individual and collective behaviours when facing uncertainties
• Large corporate risks
• Environmental risks
• Climate change
• Natural hazards
• Human driven environmental changes

• 7 March 2013 - to the FGS for preselection.
• 18 April 2013 - to AXA (only for those selected).

• From the FGS: Confirmation that if and when the fellowship is approved, the candidate will be eligible to be a post-doc at the Weizmann Institute for the entire duration of the proposed fellowship.
• From the candidate's supervisor (a Weizmann Institute researcher of rank Senior Scientist or higher): Confirmation that the supervisor agrees to host the post-doc for the entire period of the fellowship.

Please note that according to Weizmann Institute procedures, post-doctoral fellowships are paid as stipends at a fixed rate, which cannot be exceeded. In the case of Axa post-doctoral fellowships, the fellowship on offer is higher than the Weizmann Institute standard rate. To understand the implications of this, please contact the RGP Office prior to submitting an application.

Please note that foreigners are required to obtain the relevant visa (for an employment contract: category B1 = work permit) prior to taking up an appointment at the Weizmann Institute:

• In the case of an external funding source, such as Axa, which is willing to provide support only in the form of a salary with social benefits (as opposed to a stipend), the fellow must arrive at the Institute as a Visiting Scientist and be engaged by the Institute as a Senior Intern (Mitmache Bachir). In order to obtain approval for Visiting Scientist status, the prospective host must contact the Visiting Scientists Section at the Housing Directorate and follow their guidelines in this regard. The Visiting Scientsts Section will also assist in the procedures required for obtaining a B1 work permit visa. Please note that the procedures will be different, depending on the location of origin of the prospective Visiting Scientist:
  • Foreigners intending to come to the Weizmann Institute from abroad, without having previously completed studies in Israel: the Visiting Scientists Section at the Housing Directorate must be contacted to initiate the B1 work permit visa application procedure, long enough in advance for the prospective Visiting Scientist to receive the visa at an Israeli embassy/consulate (outside of Israel), prior to his/her arrival in Israel.
  • Foreigners who are currently in Israel and hold a category A2 [student] visa: According to the laws of the State of Israel as regards foreign citizens (who do not possess Israeli citizenship), engagement by the Institute of such researchers will only be possible if they a priori leave Israel and then return to an appointment as a Visiting Scientist (conditional upon approval of the Ministry of the Interior, which must agree to issue a category B1 work permit visa for this purpose).
  It should be noted that the work permit approval process - a prerequisite to the approval of the status of Visiting Scientist - usually takes several months. Consequently, a Weizmann Institute researcher intending to host a Visiting Scientist who is not an Israeli citizen should begin the relevant procedures several months in advance of the desired start date. For further details regarding the issue of obtaining a work permit for a Visiting Scientist, contact the Visiting Scientists Section at the Housing Directorate.