Canon Foundation Fellowships to highly qualified European and Japanese researchers

Annually, the Canon Foundation in Europe grants up to 15 Fellowships to highly qualified European and Japanese researchers. European Fellows are expected to pursue a period of research in Japan whereas Japanese Fellows are expected to do their research in Europe.

Canon Foundation Fellowships are for a minimum period of three months up to maximum of one year.

We support all fields of research. There are no limitations or restrictions. Applicants do not have to be currently enrolled or employed at the time of applying.

Canon Fellows from Europe are free to choose their host institutes and hosts in Japan. The same freedom is given to Japanese Canon Fellows coming to Europe. Canon Foundation Research Fellowships may be applied for when an agreement on co-operation and on a research plan has been reached between the guest researcher and the proposed host institution.

Applications can also be submitted by members of commercial, industrial, governmental or professional organisations.

Eligibility

All Europeans are eligible to apply (including Israel, Turkey, Balkan and Baltic countries).

Europeans should have permanent citizenship in the country.

Applicants should have obtained at least a Master’s degree within the last ten years of applying to the Canon Foundation. We will also consider candidates who obtained their qualification more than ten years ago as long as they provide further supporting information in their application.

Please note that priority is given to applicants going to Europe and Japan for the first time.

Application procedure for Fellowships

The annual deadline for applications is September 15. Consideration of the applications takes several months. The Selection Committee’s final decisions will be emailed to applicants before the end of December of that year. Therefore, the earliest possible date to begin the Fellowship is January 1 of the following year.

It is important to note that no correspondence is entered into by the Foundation in regard to decisions taken on any individual application and in view of the large number of applicants, no negative inference should be drawn from the failure of a candidate to secure a Fellowship.

The financial support for Research Fellows ranges from 22,500 Euro to 27,500 Euro per year and pro-rata for different periods. The Canon Foundation gives priority to those who plan to travel to Europe or Japan rather than prolong a current stay.

Applications should be made through our online application form. After registering, you will be directed to the application form.

Please check here for the list of documents which need to be uploaded before your application can be submitted.

Success rate

The average success rate is around 10%. Funding decisions are based on the quality of the research plan, the reference letters and the host confirmation. The success rate is not influenced by gender, age and nationality. Between 1990 – 2016, a total of 363 Canon Research Fellowships were granted. 221 European Fellows and 142 Japanese Fellows were sponsored. European Fellows come from some 27 countries.