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Featured Announcement
India China Institute at The New School
Invites applications for a fellowship in
Social Innovation for Sustainable Environments
January 2010-June 2012
Read more about becoming a fellow...
India China Institute (ICI) invites applications for the third round of the India China Fellowship Program. The theme of this round is Social Innovation for Sustainable Environments. The program will run from January 2010 to June 2012. A total of six fellows (two each from China, India, and The New School) will be chosen to generate new ideas, debate policies, and share collaborative solutions to key challenges facing India and China.
The 2010-2012 Fellowship Program will build on the previous fellowship programs devoted to Urbanization and Globalization (2006-2008) and Prosperity and Inequality (2008-2010) and takes advantage of the unique history and strengths of The New School in social sciences, design, and environmental studies, as well as the scholarship of more than 30 distinguished ICI Fellows.
Social Innovation for Sustainable Environments: India China Fellowship Program 2010-2012
As two of the most populous and economically dynamic nations in the world, India and China face unprecedented environmental challenges and opportunities in their intertwined futures. Both countries are increasingly conscious of the negative consequences of their rapid development, such as ecological degradation and global warming. However, ecological concerns like water contamination, greenhouse gases, poor urban air quality, and industrial waste dumping, have been largely sidelined due to urbanization pressures, industrialization, and the current economic downturn. Although the past few years have brought positive experimentation in environmental governance in both countries, much remains to be done to bring attention and action to these pressing issues.
What makes an intervention socially sustainable, especially when addressing complex environmental issues? To address the complex and interconnected problems associated with climate change and environmental sustainability, innovative approaches are needed. Many of the environmental challenges we face today are not simply technical issues--scientific solutions for many problems exist already. Some of the most pressing environmental problems are posed by social, political, and market barriers to change. In other words, social, not just technical, innovations are necessary to overcome multifaceted and interconnected environmental challenges.
The 2010-2012 Fellowship Program focuses not only on innovative strategies in the social sector, but also on the collaborative process of creation and adaptation of new organizational forms and coalitions, developing creative solutions, skills, knowledge, and entrepreneurship as drivers of polices that will mitigate the effects of climate change and help societies achieve environmental sustainability. While the focus of inquiry will be on India and China, a three-way dialogue that includes perspectives from the United States will be a key feature of the program. Through collaborative research and debates, fellows will critically examine definitions and parameters of both social innovation and sustainability in India and China.
Candidates for the fellowships in Social Innovation for Sustainable Environments will be mid-career experts, professionals, and scholars based in India, China, and at The New School. They may come from any field of study provided they can demonstrate leadership and a commitment to addressing environmental concerns.
Fellowship Benefits and Requirements
The India China Fellowship Program offers an array of opportunities unavailable at more traditional research centers and organizations. In addition to funds for travel and research, the program organizes workshops and conferences that provide fellows with strategic opportunities to interact with ICI's extended network of experts in India, China, and the United States.
The 2010-2012 program expands on the previous fellowship rounds in terms of benefits and residency requirements. It will enable six fellows to work together over two years developing collaborative projects to augment current discourse and practices in social innovation and sustainable environments in India and China, with perspectives from the United States.
All fellows are required to participate in four international residencies:
Two international group residencies (lasting 4 to 7 days), one at the beginning and one at the end of the fellowship period (March 2010 and Spring 2012 respectively). The residencies are designed to foster collaboration on research projects that will develop and grow over the course of the fellowship program. By the end of the fellowship, all fellows are required to produce at least one paper of scholarly quality, preferably as part of a group.
For fellows from India and China, two individual, month-long residencies—four weeks in the other country and four weeks at The New School.
For fellows from The New School, two individual, month-long residencies—four weeks in India and four weeks in China. These residencies are to be completed within the first 18 months of the fellowship program.
The Fellowship award amounts to approximately $40,000 in research, travel and support funds. This package includes support for:
A minimum of four weeks for Indian/Chinese fellows to conduct research in residence at a relevant institution within the first 18 months of the program. Indian fellows are expected to spend their residency in China and Chinese fellows in India.
A minimum of four weeks in residence at The New School for Indian/Chinese fellows during the Fall 2011 or Spring 2012 semester. Their activities will be individually tailored but could include working closely with New School faculty members to co-design a new course, co-teach an existing course, serve as a resource for students and faculty, conduct an intensive mini-course, and organize weekly seminars with other ICI fellows. Supplemental provisions may be available for fellows who wish to spend up to a full semester (15 weeks) at the university.
A minimum of four weeks for New School faculty fellows to conduct research in both India and China within the first 18 months of the fellowship.
Two 4-to-7 day international residencies, including a major international conference in May 2012.
An exploratory travel fund for fellows who have not visited India or China in the past two years to allow them to reconnect with colleagues and expand their professional networks before they begin their research residencies in India or China. Exploratory travel must be completed by July 2010.
An award of $5,000 upon successful completion of the fellowship.
Additionally, in order to further support exchanges and dialogue among scholars and experts on the theme of the fellowship, funds will be made available fellows to host workshops and seminars during their residencies in India and China. Fellows from the first and second fellowship rounds will be encouraged to join these seminars.