Open Society Academic Fellowship Program

open Society Academic Fellowship Program
http://www.soros.org/initiatives/hesp/focus/afp

The Open Society Institute’s International Higher Education Support Program
(HESP) launched the Academic Fellowship Program (AFP) in 2004 to
support and guide higher education reform in South Eastern Europe, the former
Soviet Union (excluding the Baltic states), and Mongolia. Although the program
readily evolves to meet the changing and varied educational challenges of the
region, its aim remains to achieve lasting higher education reform by assisting
progressive university departments and by supporting promising
scholars who teach at these departments after they have returned from abroad with an
internationally competitive Master’s or other postgraduate degree.

Recognizing that universities play a fundamental role in strengthening
civil society, AFP focuses on higher education reforms that will bolster open,
democratic societies.

Changing the Face of Education

Higher education reform in the countries targeted by AFP is often
impeded by lack of funding, ineffective education policies, poor planning and
management, reliance on traditional curricula that emphasize passive rather than
active learning, limited flexibility in career choices, corruption, and
elitism.

The Academic Fellowship Program seeks to diminish these obstacles by
contributing to the reform of higher education and helping to build
academic networks locally, regionally, and globally. The program focuses on
aiding both the educational institution and the individual scholar in two main ways:

* AFP assists reform-minded departments in their efforts to achieve
world-class academic stature and become models of innovation and
reform in their region.
* AFP supports promising young scholars by promoting their return
to the region, their positioning within academe, and their continued
professional development within a healthy academic setting. To achieve these goals,
AFP offers two fellowship programs: the Returning Scholars Fellowship
Program and the International Scholars Fellowship Program.

Returning Scholars Fellowship Program

The program, as part of a conscious strategy to combat “brain drain”
in the social sciences and humanities, supports talented scholars who, after
earning a Master’s or other postgraduate degree abroad, seek university
positions and academic careers in their home countries. Securing the services of such
scholars is essential to the revitalization of academic departments
and the sustainability of higher education reforms. The program offers
financial, professional, and departmental development support, as well as
opportunities for further professional growth as AFP alumni.

Fellowships comprise monthly stipends and various allowances, including
departmental and professional development funds, and are renewable. It
is important to note that Returning Scholars are supported only in AFP
partner departments. An interested scholar already associated with a
department that is not an AFP partner will either be ineligible for the fellowship or may discuss the possibility of relocating to a qualifying department at a different university.

Returning Scholars benefit from an innovative online instrument, the AFP
Academic Webfolio Project. Essentially a collective academic workshop,
it provides AFP fellows an open forum to present academic materials that
reflect their professional development as scholars and university teachers.
Posting the materials encourages fellows’ self-reflection and allows for ongoing
peer and expert review and commentary. The Webfolio website’s open, community
nature provides a convenient and effective opportunity for scholarly dialogue,
collaboration, assistance, and access to the collective academic
expertise of AFP fellows and faculty members of AFP partner departments.

Starting with the 2007/08 academic year, the AFP Academic Webfolio
Project also serves as the platform for the work of AFP’s new Discipline Groups.
These groups were established to facilitate academic interaction and
cooperation among all AFP fellows in the same academic discipline but at/from
different universities. The Discipline Groups’ activities will be greatly aided by
features available on the Webfolio website.

View the Returning Scholars grant guidelines.

International Scholars Fellowship Program

The program selects highly qualified scholars in the social sciences and
humanities to assist AFP partner departments where Returning Scholars
are placed. The International Scholars advise on the overall reform agenda
of the departments and share with departmental colleagues the latest
developments in their discipline, collaborate on the introduction of new courses, and
encourage the development of skills critical to academic work. Perhaps the
greatest, and most needed, contribution of International Scholars is the expert
advice they offer on curriculum development and academic planning.

International Scholars share their experience with Returning Scholars
and the entire department on a consultative basis. They work on-site with the
departments during two or three short and intense visits, and remain
in touch with colleagues between visits. International Scholars play important
roles in the Webfolio Project by mentoring individual Returning Scholars and
commenting directly on fellows’ webfolios within their Discipline Group, both
during and between visits. The details of such arrangements as travel and work
plan are negotiated on an individual basis during the selection process.

Fellowships generally include a modest stipend, transportation,
accommodation, and various other allowances. Fellows may re-apply the following year.

View the International Scholars grant guidelines.

Program Effectiveness

AFP fellows are placed in departments that have been carefully
selected as AFP partners. Partnerships are established on the basis of the departments’ openness to change and advancement, and clear visions for future
development. Returning Scholars working in such environments will find the support
and encouragement they need to launch and pursue their academic careers
while at the same time contributing to the development of the departments.
Partner departments are encouraged to take the lead in recruiting qualified
Returning and International Scholars whose professional profiles match
departmental needs.

Selection of Partner Departments

Departments are chosen based on several criteria: awareness of the
need for educational reform, demonstrated willingness to embrace change, and
concrete, realistic plans for achieving lasting reform. AFP gathers detailed
information on departments at universities throughout the region, using written
questionnaires, interviews, and site visits. Departments meeting program
criteria are invited to submit detailed proposals for AFP support, outlining
their plans for development over the course of several years. Based on
these proposals, AFP selects the most promising departments for
collaboration. A current list of partner departments can be found below.

AFP partner departments benefit in many ways from the presence and
activities of International and Returning Scholars. AFP invites fellows to submit
proposals for Departmental Development Projects and to take an active role in
implementing the departmental/AFP strategy for change. Funding for
Professional Development is also available for fellows, and professional
development and training opportunities are offered to core faculty (non-AFP scholars)
as well. Specific areas of focus include curriculum development and teaching
excellence. AFP promotes best practices in education through training events,
workshops, and roundtables. The program also provides support for projects to extend
the impact of teaching by incorporating fellows’ research in their teaching.

Download a list of current AFP partner departments below.

Alumni Involvement

AFP treats alumni as a core program component by integrating them into
on-going education reform efforts and providing them with a framework for
regional and international collaboration. The AFP Alumni Fund offers financial
support to alumni who wish to contribute their extensive academic expertise and
professional skills to the development of AFP partner departments. The
fund is open to alumni of AFP, the Civic Education Project (CEP), and the
Support for Community Outreach and University Teaching (SCOUT) Program.

Academic Fields

AFP supports scholars in the humanities and social sciences, including:

* anthropology
* area/cultural studies
* economics
* gender studies
* history
* human rights and public law
* international relations
* journalism/media studies
* philosophy
* political science
* psychology
* public policy/public health
* social work
* sociology

Geographic Representation

AFP supports efforts for higher education reform in:

* Albania
* Armenia
* Azerbaijan
* Bosnia Herzegovina
* Croatia
* Georgia
* Kazakhstan
* Kosovo
* Kyrgyzstan
* Macedonia
* Moldova
* Mongolia
* Montenegro
* Russia
* Serbia
* Tajikistan
* Ukraine

After their accession to the European Union, AFP no longer accepts new
departmental applications from Romania and Bulgaria, although support of
current partner departments there will continue for the near future.

Administration

AFP is administered from Budapest in cooperation with field offices
located in
and serving the following sub-regions:

* Moldova, Ukraine, Russia
* Caucasus: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia
* Central Asia—Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan—and Mongolia
* Southeastern Europe: Albania, Bulgaria, Bosnia Herzegovina,
Croatia,
Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Romania, and Serbia

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