Onassis Foundation Foreigners' Fellowships

In 1995 the Foundation established an annual programme of grants and scholarships for research, study and artistic endeavour within Greece. The programme is intended exclusively for non-Greeks: members of national academies, university professors of all levels, PhD holders, post-doctorate researchers, post-graduate students and doctoral candidates, artists, and teachers of Greek language, literature, history and culture in both primary and secondary education. Exceptionally and on a case-by-case basis, the programme may accept Greeks of the Diaspora, second generation Greeks, and Greeks who permanently reside abroad and have been studying or have been employed in foreign Universities for over 10 or 15 years, depending on the type of scholarship.

(See FAQ for additional details: http://www.onassis.gr/uploaded/pdf/Scholarships%20Foreigners/FAQ_18.pdf)

The programme also includes Cypriot citizens, who have studied and reside outside Greece, and are members of National Academies, University professors of all levels –doctorate holders and post-doctorate researchers– as well as distinguished artists.

The Programme aims at promoting Greek language, history and culture abroad, thereby creating and encouraging ties of friendship and cooperation between members of the foreign academic community and their Greek counterparts.

The selection of scholarship or research grant recipients is based on the positive reviews of the Academic Advisors Committees of the Foundation and is validated by the Foundation's Board of Directors.

The said Committees comprise University Professors (some of which are also former scholars of the Foundation), specialized scientists and renowned artists, whose participation and contribution are both honorary and voluntary. Former scholars of the Onassis Foundation, who now occupy academic posts, also offer their voluntary contribution.

The grantees and scholarship recipients of this Programme since the beginning of its operation, come from 65 countries: Albania, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Canada, Chile, China, Congo, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany,  Ghana, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, India, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Latvia,  Lithuania, Mexico, Moldavia, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Pakistan, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, S. Korea, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, S. Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, The Netherlands, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Uruguay, U.S.A., Uzbekistan, Venezuela.

In order to assist its foreign scholars, the Foundation has entered, since 2002, collaboration and funding agreements with the Institute for Neohellenic Research (INR), the Institute for Byzantine Research (IBR), the Institute for Greek and Roman Antiquity (KERA) and the National Documentation Centre (as of 2011) of the National Hellenic Research Foundation (NHRF), as well as with the Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy (ELIAMEP) from 2001 up until 2010.

More specifically, the NHRF and ELIAMEP provide foreign scholars with a work-space, fully equipped with office material and secretarial support– all expenses are covered by the Foundation– and encourage scientific collaborations between the Foundation's foreign scholars and their resident or freelance scientific associates. They have also agreed to allow scholars unlimited access to their libraries, electronic data banks, and archives of daily Greek and foreign press articles.

Finally, the Institutes and their academic associates undertake the guidance and monitoring of the research conducted by the scholars and welcome their participation in their various conferences and seminars.

In 2001 the Foundation, following the successful publication in Greek of the Greek Scholars' Album, produced the first bilingual (Greek-English) Album of Foreign Scholars, which records their academic and professional progress.

The number of scholarships awarded by the Foundation to foreigners varies from year to year. On average, 35 scholarships are awarded annually. During the 14 years of the Programme's operation (1995 – 2010), 683 research grants and educational scholarships have been awarded, amounting to $10,092,041.