FAQs - Irish Research Council

2015 Government of Ireland Postdoctoral Fellowship Scheme:
Conditional awardees
Frequent Asked Questions (FAQs)
Updated 21/05/2015 – new FAQs in pink font
Transcripts & Award Acceptance Form
Q: Who should sign on behalf the host institution, the Head of Department or
the Research Officer?
A: We recommend that you contact the Research Office of the Irish Research Body
(i.e. the Higher Education Institution or Research Performing Organisation) where
you will be based for your Fellowship as a matter of urgency in order to identify the
appropriate representative and to determine any internal deadlines relating to the
signing process.
Q: I have all certificates and transcripts either directly issued in English or
officially translated in English by a sworn translator at an Italian tribunal with
relative apostilles. You can find a copy in PDF attached. Could you have a look
at them, and confirm whether photocopies of them are fine as certified
copies?
A: In cases where official transcripts are available in both English and in another
language, transcripts in either language will suffice. (Please see advice below
regarding the translation of non-English-language transcripts.)
Photocopies of transcripts must themselves be certified in order to suffice. (You
cannot simply photocopy your transcripts and send them to us without certification.)
Q: Do I have to provide certified copies and transcripts for all my
qualifications, or is the certified copy and the transcript of my last
qualification enough to fulfil the requirements?
A: Certified copies and transcripts must be provided for all academic qualifications
stated in your application.
Q: I am an Italian citizen and am currently in another country. I do not expect
to come back to my home country very soon. Are the certified copies by an
Italian Embassy valid? Do I have to add my own translation in English of the
endorsement of the Embassy?
A: Where Conditional Awardees’ awarding institutions are outside Ireland and/or it
is difficult to have the transcripts certified by these institutions, they may have copies
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of their transcripts certified by a suitable independent third party: e.g. by a notary,
solicitor, Garda/member of the police force, Commissioner for Oaths, etc.
Certification by an Embassy will suffice.
Should the certification consist of a simple stamp and signature, a translation will
not be required. Should it consist of a lengthier piece of text, please follow the
guidelines below regarding translation of text in non-English language.
Q: My transcript is in Chinese. Do I need to get an English translation?
A: Yes. For Higher Education Institutions outside of Ireland, please provide a
translation where necessary and sign the translated copy with your own signature
(in addition to supplying the certified transcript in its original language). Upon
submission, your signature will be duly held as verification of the accuracy of this
document.
Q: My undergraduate and postgraduate degrees were awarded by institutions
outside Europe, and it is very difficult for me to get these institutions to certify
my transcripts. Is there any other acceptable means by which these degrees
could be certified?
Q: I can send you certified copies of my Ph.D. and my BA. My Master's degree
cannot be certified by the official notarial services of the US Embassy in
Cyprus. To send it back to the States in order to be certified by UT Austin is
going to be a very time-consuming process. What can I do now? Is it possible
for you to accept non-certified copies of my Master's degree?
I can only provide you with a letter from the HoD at UT Austin, which will say
that I have attended UT Austin from 2008 to 2010 and that I awarded my
Master's degree from that university in May 2010. I can also asked them to
stamp and certify a copy of my Master's degree, scan it and email it back to
me? Is this satisfactory?
Or, is it possible a barrister-at-law to certify the copies of my transcripts? I
have been told that there are no solicitors in Cyprus anymore.
A: Where Conditional Awardees’ awarding institutions are outside Ireland and/or it
is difficult to have the transcripts certified by these institutions, they may have copies
of their transcripts certified by a suitable independent third party: e.g. by a notary,
solicitor, Garda/member of the police force, Commissioner for Oaths, etc. For
certification, any of these independent third parties will suffice. Uncertified
transcripts will not be accepted.
Either of the solutions that you propose are suitable: a signed letter from the relevant
Head of Department confirming all key details of your academic qualification, as
outlined in your application; or a transcript that is certified by a barrister-at-law.
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Q: Where it is not feasible to visit the issuing institution to obtain a stamped
copy, will a letter of certification from that institution suffice? One of my
diplomas was lost during a move, but I have a letter of certification from the
university to confirm that I graduated for the degree in question. Will this
suffice, or should I order a re-issue of the parchment to be photocopied?
A: As stated above, where Conditional Awardees’ awarding institutions are outside
Ireland and/or it is difficult to have the transcripts certified by these institutions, they
may have copies of their transcripts certified by a suitable independent third party:
e.g. by a notary, solicitor, Garda/member of the police force, Commissioner for
Oaths, etc.
Transcripts do not necessarily have to consist of a diploma/parchment. A certified
letter or other document from the relevant institution will suffice, provided that it
confirms all key data as per the application form.
Q: Could you please clarify ''these transcripts must be appropriately stamped
or endorsed''? Could they be stamped by RCSI research office?
A: As stated above, copies of transcripts may be certified by a suitable independent
third party: e.g. by a notary, solicitor, Garda/member of the police force,
Commissioner for Oaths, etc. The process that you outline whereby an institution’s
Research Office would stamp/certify a photocopy of these documents is satisfactory.
Q: What type of 'certified copies' do you accept? In Brazil we usually go to a
notary with the original document and they will make a photocopy and stamp
it as a certified copy. Would that certification by a Brazilian notary be valid for
the IRC?
A: As stated above, copies of transcripts may be certified by a suitable independent
third party: e.g. by a notary, solicitor, Garda/member of the police force,
Commissioner for Oaths, etc. The process that you outline whereby a Brazilian
notary would stamp/certify a photocopy of these documents is satisfactory.
Additionally, please provide a translation where necessary and sign the translated
copy with your own signature.
Q: The University where I did my Masters has now moved to issuing official
transcripts via a secure, online server. This allows me to provide you with a
unique, secure URL which you can use to view an official, verified online
version of my transcript. Is this acceptable? I can still request a paper
transcript, but because they have moved towards the online system, this is a
lot slower. It would take at least 28 days to process, so it would not arrive with
you until after the 8 June deadline.
Q: I have been told by my former institution that ordering extra copies of my
degree certificates and transcripts could take up to 28 days. They do,
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however, also issue transcripts through a secure electronic document system
which would allow third-parties to view student documents online via a link.
This would be a much easier and quicker option - if you were willing for me to
provide you with this link rather than paper copies of my documents.
A: In this case, please send us a hard copy of the relevant transcript (which, in this
instance, may be uncertified) together with clear instructions regarding the electronic
means by which their authenticity may be verified by the Council.
Q: Recently I also got copies of my transcripts to enable me to work at the
CDC in America. I only got a soft copy of my PhD transcript. I have attached it
to see if it will suffice for your requirements? If the soft copy will not, if I can
get the same form in hard copy sent to you will that suffice?
A: Conditional Awardees must supply a non-returnable certified copy of
undergraduate and postgraduate degree certificates/transcripts (or evidence of a
successful viva/thesis defence, where such is required, if you have not yet
graduated), as outlined in the application.
We regret to inform you that soft (electronic) copies will not suffice. The hard-copy
transcripts that you supply should confirm all key details of your academic
qualifications, as outlined in your application. In this regard, the sample that you
have provided is suitable.
Q: My transcripts are in my maiden name. When I am sending the transcripts
should I send a copy of my marriage certificate also?
A: Yes, we will require a copy of your marriage certificate in order to verify that the
transcripts provided are actually yours.
Q: Where should the certified copies of transcripts and signed acceptance
form be sent?
A: Please post these documents to:
Government of Ireland Postdoctoral Fellowships,
Irish Research Council,
Brooklawn House,
Crampton Avenue,
Shelbourne Road,
Ballsbridge,
Dublin 4,
Ireland.
Q: I indicated in my application that my doctorate had not yet been awarded. I
did indeed have a successful viva before 28th February 2015, as stipulated in
the Terms and Conditions. What documentation do I need to supply as
evidence of this?
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A: The transcripts (or evidence of a successful viva/thesis defence) that you supply
must clarify that you meet the above eligibility criterion and must confirm the details
as provided by you on your application form. Evidence of successful viva/thesis
defence might take the form of a letter signed by a suitable independent third party
at the awarding institution. Please note that this written evidence must clearly state
the date of your viva/thesis defence.
Should your transcripts not confirm that you meet this requirement, the award offer
will be suspended pending verification and/or withdrawn.
Q: While I passed my viva in January 2015, I have not yet graduated. The only
official confirmation that I have so far is a letter of approval from the board of
graduate studies (dated 24 February 2015), which does not state the date of
my viva, and an electronic copy of my examiners’ report, which does state the
date of my viva. Would authenticated copies of these documents suffice?
A: Any certified document that clearly demonstrates that you successfully defended
your thesis before 28th February 2015 will suffice. As the letter of approval that you
mention is dated 24th February (i.e. before the relevant deadline), the fact that it does
not specifically state the viva date will not be problematic.
Q: I am in the process of gathering my academic transcripts; however, in the
relevant institutions there is a waiting list of between 2-3 weeks, which might
mean missing the 8th of June deadline. Is it possible to submit the academic
transcripts after the 8th of June, if they arrive toward the latter end of the 3
week waiting period?
A: The Council expects Conditional Awardees to make every effort to ensure that
they meet the stipulated deadline. Should insurmountable delays arise in relation to
transcripts, we request that Conditional Awardees (a) proceed to send us the signed
Award Acceptance Form by the stipulated deadline and (b) advise us of the situation
regarding transcripts close to the deadline and propose a realistic revised timeframe.
It may then be possible to negotiate a short extension to the deadline for transcripts
in exceptional circumstances.
Q: I indicated in my application that my doctorate had not yet been awarded.
Due to unexpected circumstances, my viva did not take place before 28th
February 2015. What consequence does this have?
A: We regret to inform you that you are no longer eligible to hold this award. The
Terms and Conditions state that:
4.2 Government of Ireland Postdoctoral Fellows must fulfil the following criteria:
4.2.1 must have been awarded their doctoral degree within the five-year period
before the 28th February 2015. For the purposes of this condition, the date of
graduation will be taken into account; or
4.2.2 must have been certified as having fulfilled within the five-year period before
the 28th February 2015 all the requirements for the award of a doctoral degree,
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including a viva/thesis defence where such is required, but have not yet graduated.
For the purposes of this condition, the original viva/thesis defence date and not the
graduation date will be taken into account.
Consequently, the award offer will be withdrawn.
Ethical approval
Q: How do I know if I need a statement from an ethics committee?
A: In your original application, you were asked if your proposal required ethical
approval. If you answered ‘yes’ to this question, you will be required to submit
confirmation of approval from the Ethics Committee in your institution. Upon receipt
of this, please post a hard copy to the above-mentioned address.
Q: It is not possible for me to get ethical approval from the University Ethics
Committee by 1st October. What should I do?
A: If you require ethical approval, this must be provided by 1st October 2015, or,
with written approval from the Irish Research Council, within 3 months of this date.
Requests to provide ethical approval within 3 months should be sent to
postdoc@research.ie and should provide the rationale for the request.
Miscellaneous Questions
Q: I am experiencing some difficulties with my email address, which I provided
in my application. Could I use a different email address temporarily, please?
A: Please log in to SmartSimple in order to update your contact information. To
ensure receipt of notifications of important information and opportunities, awardees
are obliged to keep contact their information up-to-date in the online system.
Q: Why are my Total Direct Research Costs over the period of funded research
slightly lower than those requested in my application?
A: Please see the list of notes regarding ineligible costs in your Award Budget and
compare these with the requested Direct Research Costs in your application. A
deduction will have been made due to the inclusion of an ineligible cost.
Q: I have been awarded some additional funding from another source. What
should I do?
A: Email postdoc@research.ie detailing your additional funding. Please pay close
attention to the Terms and Conditions of the Scheme, Section 6.24.
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Q: I joined as a post-doctoral fellow recently (from 30th March 2015) in USA
for one year. I am still very much interested to join the IRC fellowship. It seems
that the fellowship start date is from October 1, 2015. Therefore, may I request
to delay the fellowship join date by 6 more months? By that time I will be
completing one year at my current institution and able to join the IRC
fellowship. I also have no problem to use only part of the allocated 2 years.
Q: Is it possible to delay the start date of the Fellowship?
A: All Awards have a start date of 1st October 2015. The Terms & Conditions state
that:
9.1 Fellowships may not be deferred, other than for eligible career breaks (e.g.
maternity or parental leave) or in exceptional circumstances (e.g. illness). The
decision is at the discretion of the Council whose decision on the matter will be final.
We regret to inform you that the start date cannot be deferred due to the Conditional
Awardee being in possession of another work contract.
On the basis of the above, please let us know as a matter of urgency whether you
intend to decline the award so that we can then activate the highest-ranked reserve
promptly. Reserve candidates are also likely to have competing offers and
commitments to consider.
Q: After receiving the supporting materials and documentation from me, how
long will take you to issue the final award confirmation?
This in order to manage an advance notice that I am resigning to the company
where I am currently working.
A: This will depend entirely upon the promptness with which Conditional Awardees
submit signed forms, certified transcripts, etc. to the Council. If these documents are
received before the deadline, it may then be possible to confer ‘Award Holder’ status
very quickly. (This will be done by implementing a change in status from ‘Conditional
Awardee’ to ‘Award Holder’, which will be viewable to the awardee and Research
Officer on logging in to SmartSimple.)
Also, please note the comments above regarding the award start date (1st October
2015).
Q: How do I go about declining the offer?
A: You can decline an offer by emailing postdoc@research.ie. Please note that the
Council operates a reserve list for this scheme. As soon as an offer is declined, we
will immediately offer the award to candidates placed on the reserve list in ranked
order. As you will appreciate, reserve candidates are eager to learn whether or not
they will be offered a Fellowship under this scheme.
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