The POSCO TJ Park Foundation (www.postf.org) is an independent and non-profit organization fully financed by POSCO, one of global leading steelmakers. The Foundation has been contributing to the future of our society and Asia by expanding its range of the social responsibilities through cultivating leadership for the next generation, realizing Asian networking, and sharing project for public interests.

 

To facilitate mutual understanding and development in Asia, the Foundation and the POSCO Research Institute (POSRI) (www.posri.re.kr) have launched the Research Grants for Asian Studies and collects comprehensive area studies on Asia in liberal arts and social sciences fields as follows.

0. The goal of the POSCO TJ Park Foundation Research Grants is to support Asian studies to promote mutual understanding and cooperation in Asia, so that the research themes are generally open to fields of liberal arts and social sciences such as history, archeology, science of religion, geography, philosophy, sociology, anthropology, literature, psychology, management, economics, etc.

0. Research themes for this year are:

• [Designated Topics]
  
    1) Succession and Development of Traditional Culture in Asian Regions,
  
    2) Creative Union ¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡between Asian Culture and Western Culture,
  
    3) Cultural Transformation caused by Social, Economic, or Political Changes
  
       in Asian Regions, or


•  [Free Topics]
  
    4) Other topics in the fields of liberal arts and social sciences to promote mutual
  
       understanding and cooperation in Asia in the 21st century.

0. Make a proposal of research project and carry it out, suggesting new theories or analyses related to Asian region through empirical studies, field studies or literature studies

0. The qualified applicants are full-time faculty members and research staff at universities in Asia

0. The value amount of grant is up to US$15,000 per project. (Researchers are requested to make application after calculating proper budget according to each subject. The value amount of grant can be adjusted after discussions on application.)

0. Duration of grant: March 1, 2009 ~ February 15, 2010 (within one year)

0. Deadline for application: APPLICATION SHOULD BE POSTMARKED NO LATER THAN DECEMBER 1, 2008

0. Announcement of results: the Foundation will notify individually to applicants and announce it on the Website in February 2009 

0. A committee including the Foundation and POSRI is responsible for the final selection of the candidates recommended by corresponding referees of each academic field.

0. Grant payments: Three times on an installment basis

• -1st: 50% of the total research expenses to be paid via a relevant university after completing agreement on the research grants


• -2nd: 30% of the total research expenses after receiving and appraising a interim report


• -3rd: 20% of the total research expenses after receiving and appraising a final report

0. Report submission;

• -Interim report: within 6 months after starting study


• -Final report: within 1 year after starting study

0. Applications should include the following:

• -Completed Application Form for research grants


• -Research Plan


• -Details for Project Budget


• -Curriculum Vitae (for the person in charge of study, joint researcher(s)) 

0. All applications should be submitted via e-mail by the advertised date to

• -Program Manager Seung Pyo HONG (Mr.)
  
  POSCO TJ Park Foundation
  
  29th Floor, Glass Tower Bldg, 946-1
  
  Daechi 3-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, Korea 135-708


• -e-mail: asiaforum@postf.org,hongsp@posco.com


• -Once submitted, applications can not be modified or returned.


• -Application forms also can be downloaded from www.postf.org/eng

0. Matters for caution in working out a research grants application and a research plan

• -Both independent and joint studies on subjects are possible for application.


• -The area for study is confined to the Asian region. 


• -In principle, the person in charge of the selected research is subject to presenting final study results at the POSCO Asia Forum to be held in May 2010 (tentative plan). (The expenses required for staying in Seoul to present at the POSCO Asia Forum, including a round-trip air fare, hotel accommodation and meals, will be provided by the Foundation, aside from the research grant.)


• -All applications and research papers should be written in English (MS word or PDF format). 


• -Application for research grants should be made in the designated form. Applicants must clarify the name of region for studies and concrete research fields. Categories of research regions are as follows:
  
   •North East Asia: Korea, China, Japan
  
   •South East Asia: Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia, Malaysia, Indonesia,
  
     the Philippines, Singapore
  
   •Central Asia: Mongolia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan   
  
   •West Asia: India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Iran, Iraq,
  
  Afghanistan , Syria, Turkey, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar,
  
  United Arab Emirates, Oman, Yemen, Israel, Lebanon, Palestine,
  
  Bahrain, Maldives, Cyprus.


• -A research plan should be mapped out after referring to attached file. There is no specific form, but all clarified items should be included as possible.


• -Final research results are posted on the website of POSCO TJ Park Foundation. 

0. Attached material:  2009 Application form_POSCO TJ Park Foundation.doc