The Institute of Ismaili Studies (IIS) has long welcomed visiting scholars whose work contributes to the study of Islam, with particular focus on Shiʿi and Ismaili traditions. Through the Visiting Research Fellowship, scholars engage with The Institute’s academic community, collaborate with researchers, and contribute to ongoing scholarship in these fields.
Visiting research fellowship at IIS
Visiting fellows enrich the intellectual life of IIS. They often contribute to the IIS publications programme, participate in seminars and lectures, and share their research with wider audiences. In doing so, they help extend the reach of The Institute’s scholarship and strengthen connections with academic communities around the world.
In recent years, visiting fellows from universities and research institutions from different countries have worked closely with IIS research departments and the Ismaili Special Collections Unit. These collaborations provide fellows with access to specialist resources while supporting the Institute’s wider research agenda.
Dr Tatiana Korneeva’s research and fellowship
Dr Tatiana Korneeva, the most recent visiting fellow, joined IIS at the end of last year to conduct research on “The concept of the Ismaili Imamate in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.” During her fellowship she also delivered a lecture at the Aga KhanA title granted by the Shah of Persia to the then Ismaili Imam in 1818 and inherited by each of his successors to the Imamate. Centre (AKC) on “The Evolution of Microcosm and Macrocosm Concepts and Imamate in Ismaili Thought,” and led a Russian-language session at the Ismaili Centre London on “The Philosophy of Nasir Khusraw.” Dr Korneeva, who regularly gives public lectures on the history and philosophy of the IsmailisAdherents of a branch of Shi’i Islam that considers Ismail, the eldest son of the Shi’i Imam Jaʿfar al-Ṣādiq (d. 765), as his successor., shared insights from her research with both academic and community audiences.
Dr Korneeva defended her doctoral thesis entitled, “Philosophical Views of Nasir Khusraw (based on the treatise Gushaish va Rahaish)”, at the Institute of Philosophy of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IPhRAS) in 2016. She is currently a senior research fellow in the Department of Philosophy of the Islamic World at IPhRAS. Her research focuses on Islamic studies, Arab-Muslim philosophy, and Ismaili thought, with particular attention to Nasir Khusraw.
Her monograph, “Nasir Khusraw and His Philosophical Views”, was published in 2021. She is also the author of numerous articles published in academic journals and edited volumes. Dr Korneeva regularly gives public lectures on the history and philosophy of the Ismailis, including a lecture in Russian titled ‘The Philosophy of Nasir Khusraw’ at the Ismaili Centre.
From December 2025 to February 2026, she conducted a study of rare manuscripts from the Fatimid and AlamutFortress of the Nizari Ismailis in northern Iran, which fell to the Mongols in 654 AH/1256 CE. periods held at the Ismaili Special Collections Unit, and presented her findings at an IIS seminar at the Aga Khan Centre, sparking a lively discussion among colleagues. Her fellowship reflects the value of sustained scholarly exchange at IIS, bringing specialist research into dialogue with wider academic and community audiences.
