Applications open for Fulbright Specialist Program for Nepali Institutions

2018-2019 Fulbright Specialist Program for Nepali Institutions (Government Offices, Universities, NGOs, and Research Centers)

 APPLICATION FOR NEPALI INSTITUTIONS

 Deadline: November 20, 2017

 The Nepal Fulbright Commission (USEF/Nepal) announces the competition for the 2018-2019 Fulbright Specialist Program (FSP) to support Nepali institutions through grants to bring U.S. Specialists in selected disciplines to Nepal for two to six weeks anytime between April 2018 and September 30, 2019. Depending on the availability of funding, USEF/Nepal will provide up to nine grants to Nepali institutions.

 The FSP program encourages host institutions to tailor projects to their own needs. However, all projects should have an education or training focus. Due to the short-term nature of the exchange, projects should have concrete objectives that can be achieved over the course of the Specialist’s visit.  The ideal project, however, will foster long-term collaboration.  Past Specialists have supported host institutions by conducting activities such as: 

•     trainings and professional development

•     short-term lecturing

•     seminars

•     teacher training

•     special conferences or workshops

•     collaborating on curriculum planning, institutional and/or faculty development 

Note: Personal or clinical research is not funded via the Fulbright Specialist Program. 

Program Parameters 

•     All exchanges must range from 14 to 42 days in length, including weekends, holidays and travel days.

•     Projects are restricted to Nepal.

•     Each project is limited to only one Fulbright Specialist grantee. 

Eligible Host Institutions: 

Institutions that may be eligible to request a Fulbright Specialist include, but are not limited to: 

• Institutions of Higher Education

• Government Institutions (ministries or agencies, courts, parliamentary or congressional bodies)

• Cultural Institutions (conservatories, museums, etc.)

• Non-Governmental Organizations including issue-centered institutions and think tanks, and

• Medical Institutions (public health organizations, teaching hospitals, etc.)

 

Eligible Disciplines

 Projects should focus on one of the following disciplines: 

o Agriculture	o American Studies
o Anthropology	o Archeology
o Biology Education	o Business Administration
o Chemistry Education	o Communications and Journalism
o Computer Science and Information Technology	o Economics
o Education	o Engineering Education
o Environmental Science	o Law
o Library Science	o Math Education
o Peace and Conflict Resolution Studies	o Physics Education
o Political Science	o Public Administration
o Public/Global Health	o Social Work
o Sociology	o Urban Planning

 If you are looking for information about the English Language Specialist program, please visit https://elprograms.org/specialist/.

 

Grant Benefits

 The U.S. Department of State typically covers:

·       roundtrip, economy class international airfare,

·       enrollment in a limited health insurance program, and

·       a daily honorarium for participating Fulbright Specialists.

 

In general, host institutions should be prepared to provide the Specialist with lodging, meals, and in-country transportation, either through monetary or in-kind contributions, throughout their full stay in country. The stipend for in-country transportation should allow the Specialist to travel to and from their lodging and project activity site as well as allow the Specialist to conduct local activities such as grocery shopping or visiting a local market, pharmacy, etc. 

In accordance with the Fulbright Program's aim of promoting mutual understanding between Nepal and the U.S. the Specialist may also have the opportunity to participate in activities organized by the U.S. Embassy in Nepal, the United States Educational Foundation in Nepal (USEF - Nepal), or the Fulbright Alumni Association of Nepal. 

Duration

 

·       Two-six weeks.

·       Between April 2018 and September 30, 2019.

·       Project Start Date: This is the date that the grantee departs the U.S. Please note that in many cases the grantee must depart the U.S. the day before the host institution requested their arrival due to the time difference and length of travel. 

Example: A host institution requests that the grantee arrives on May 5, 2018. The grantee must depart the U.S. on May 4, 2018 in order to arrive on May 5, 2018. Therefore, the project’s official start date is May 4, 2018, and this day must be counted against the maximum 42 days allowed for a grant. 

·       Project Completion Date:

1.     Approved projects must be completed within nine months from the originally proposed start date in the project proposal; and

2.     Projects must be completed by the end of the subsequent fiscal year (e.g. FY18 projects must be completed no later than September 30, 2019). 

Multi-Visit (Serial Projects) 

If a host institution would benefit by having the Fulbright Specialist visit the host institution more than once, host institutions may apply for their project to be Multi-Visit. Please note that the majority of approved projects are not Multi-Visit, and host institutions will need to provide a very strong justification for why this approach would strengthen project outcomes. Please find below some general program parameters for Multi-Visit projects.

1.     Multi-Visit projects cannot include more than a total of three trips.

2.     All trips must be completed within a one-year period by the same Fulbright Specialist. The one-year period is calculated by adding 12 months from the initial start date of the first visit through the end date of the final visit.

3.     Each visit must be a minimum of 14 days.  The total number of days across all visits cannot exceed six weeks (42 days). 

Application Information for Nepali Host Institutions

 The Nepali host institutions must identify a specific U.S. Specialist whom they wish to host. The Specialist need not be already listed on the World Learning-maintained Specialist roster.  But individuals interested in serving as a Fulbright Specialist must meet all eligibility requirements including:

·       Be a U.S. citizen; and

·       Have significant experience in one of the eligible disciplines, as demonstrated by professional, academic, or artistic achievements. 

For a complete list of eligibility requirements and information on how to apply to join the Fulbright Specialist Roster, please visit https://fulbrightspecialist.worldlearning.org/. 

U.S. academics and professionals interested in applying to join the Fulbright Specialist Roster, should direct all questions to World Learning at [email protected] 

Finding a good match is very important. Here are some tips for finding US Specialist:

·       Start your search early. Give yourself lots of time to search and send emails.

·       Look at the webpages of institutions who do related work.

·       Look on “Linked in” webpages, and university webpages.

·       If someone says no, ask them if they have suggestions for someone else to ask.

·       Ask for ideas from Americans familiar with Nepal and Nepalis who have worked in the US. 

Other considerations:

·       While applicants who have previously participated in a Fulbright exchange are eligible to participate in the Fulbright Specialist Program, preference will be given to candidates who have not previously received a Fulbright grant or had significant overseas experience.

·       The Nepali institution must submit an application form to USEF-Nepal by the application deadline.

·       Joint proposals by a group of Nepali institutions are strongly encouraged.

·       Applications should also include a brief (maximum 2 page) curriculum vitae of the proposed U.S. Specialist and letters of support from the potential host institution(s) in Nepal.

·       Applications are assessed by a USEF-Nepal Selection Committee. Successful applications are recommended to World Learning in the U.S., and the U.S. Department of State.  Final approval can take several weeks.

 

Application Timeline 

APPLICATIONS OPEN: October 2, 2017 

APPLICATION SUBMISSION DEADLINE: 4 p.m., Monday, November 20, 2017 

If accepted, host institutions will be contacted by USEF-Nepal for the second online submission of the project application for further processing by World Learning in the U.S. in January 2018. 

Host institutions whose applications were submitted for further online processing by World Learning will be informed of application outcome by February-March 2018. 

Grant can be undertaken anytime between April 2018 – September 30, 2019. 

For further information 

Contact [email protected] 

Application form for Nepali host institutions 

The application form can be accessed online from fulbrightnepal.org.np/specialist