The Public Affairs Section of the US Embassy Algiers is pleased to announce that the NEA Fulbright Branch in the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs will offer a new short-term Regional Fulbright Visiting Scholar program for the Middle East and North Africa in science and technology and other fields. This specially-designed three-month scholar program will be offered in September 2011. Recruitment and selection of the regional scholars and U.S. host institutions will get underway this fall (2010).
Twenty five scholars from the NEA region will pursue guided study and research activities with U.S. mentors in key fields at competitively-selected U.S. universities. The scholars will be placed in small groups according to field of study at five U.S. institutions. The key fields of study are: English language and linguistics, education, engineering, and science and technology. Two cohorts will be selected in S&T fields.
Selection Criteria: The scholars selected from the NEA region will be senior faculty in a department, including departmental chairs, deans or directors of constituent colleges of a university or mid-to-high level administrators of an institution. They will be highly motivated to engage with colleagues and others of their academic and professional fields in the U.S.
The program will offer scholars from the region the opportunity for close collaboration with U.S. faculty colleagues who have strong expertise in their subject areas. The program is intended to help build capacity of universities and scholarly communities in North Africa and the Middle East. The U.S. hosts will provide access to libraries, laboratories, and faculty as well as instruction, consultation and observation of professionals in each scholar’s field. This new special three month program will lay the foundation for the visiting scholars and their U.S. hosts to develop long-term institutional relationships that will be sustained after the end of the grant.
The Council for the International Exchange of Scholars (CIES) will administer the program on behalf of the Bureau. Recruitment for the visiting scholars and U.S. host institutions will be announced by CIES beginning in fall 2010. The applicants and institutions will be finalized by early spring 2011. The host institutions will receive the dossiers of the candidates no later than March 2011 when the candidates are notified of their selection. The program will begin in the U.S. in early September with an arrival orientation in Washington. The grantees will spend the following eleven and a half weeks with their U.S. host universities. The program will conclude in early December.
You will receive an official program announcement from CIES later this summer with more details about the program and the recruitment and selection process. Posts and commissions will be invited to recruit up to 5 candidates (two finalists and three alternates). We hope to achieve a balance of candidates in each of the selected fields.
To enhance the scholar’s experience in the U.S., CIES is developing a social networking tool that will help them maintain contact with their U.S. host institutions and colleagues upon their return to their home countries. It will provide a platform for the sharing of research and ideas related to their research fields and foster ongoing exchange beyond the grant period.
This new short-term Fulbright program will be offered in addition to the annually-offered academic year Visiting Scholar Program which will proceed as scheduled. Results from the short term pilot program will be carefully evaluated to determine its viability in future years.
Online application on the following link:
https://apply.embark.com/student/fulbright/scholars/30
Please submit your online application no later than January 31, 2011.
Source: http://algiers.usembassy.gov/academic_exchanges.html
