Beca Fulbright Nexus Applied Research Program

Beca Fulbright Nexus Applied Research Program

The NEXUS Program is a collaborative initiative for scholarly research and exchange in the Western Hemisphere.  Multi-national, multi-disciplinary, and multi-sectoral in scope, NEXUS seeks to foster new networks of scholars, practitioners and applied researchers in collaborative ventures with long-term regional impact.

A total of 15 grants will be awarded to participants who will spend up to one calendar year engaged in collaborative thinking, analysis, problem-solving, and multi-disciplinary project-oriented research in one of three broad, inter-related areas considered vital for the development of the region: Science, Technology, and Innovation; Entrepreneurship; and, Sustainable Energy.  This year, special emphasis will be given to climate change adaptation strategies and public policy focused research ventures that examine strategies to cope with climate variability.

The Nexus Program seeks to create a network of faculty, applied researchers and practitioners in the hemisphere who will seek synergies through individual and team-based multi-disciplinary research with immediate and practical application, and provide a forum to spark new avenues for collaboration, share best practices, cultivate multi-sectoral partnerships, promote indigenous solutions, deepen regional ties, and foster private-public ventures.  Effectively addressing pressing public policy issues in the region requires that knowledge and solutions be generated through the synergistic efforts of governments, the private sector, and civil society.

Research activities will be carried out primarily in one’s home country, and will be complemented by 3 plenary seminars in the region and 1 research visit to the United States.

Areas of study

Research projects should address one of the following three program thematic areas: Science, Technology and Innovation; Entrepreneurship; or Sustainable Energy, with priority given to projects on climate change adaptation strategies and public policy focused research ventures that examine strategies to cope with climate variability.

Science, technology and innovation

Science, technology and innovation may include projects designed to: Move ideas from laboratories to the marketplace in fields of regional importance, such as climate change and adaptation strategies, including research projects focusing on food production and food security, and emergency preparedness for natural disasters; Address public health issues arising from climate variability and change, including those related to air quality, water- and food-borne diseases, parasites, and weather-related injury or death; Contribute to the development of sustainable cities, informed by best practices in urban planning, earthquake and other natural disaster preparedness (including floods, hurricanes, tsunamis, etc); implement green energy and environmental standards; Foster  regional and local competitiveness; Address  poverty eradication and increase quality of  life outcomes for all  individuals from the region; and promote expanded access to education, including in STEM fields at the primary, secondary and post-secondary levels. 

Entrepreneurship

The entrepreneurship category may encompass proposals that: Provide consumers with greater access to clean-energy research and green technologies; Foster innovative market solutions to pressing social needs across the region; Expand access to working capital for micro-entrepreneurs; Link markets to producers and consumers across the supply and distribution chain so that small producers and service providers can participate more effectively in trade; Expand credit access to the unbanked through innovative approaches such as utilizing movable assets as collateral and promoting the availability of secured transactions; Build upon a continuum of experiences to capitalize on a wide range of entrepreneurial knowledge, from micro to mainstream to social entrepreneurship theories and practices; Engage the private sector and civil society to advance labor and environmental standards in business and industry, sharing  best practices for such standards and their enforcement; and outline how activities can become self-sustainable and replicable over time. 

Sustainable energy

The sustainable energy category may include proposals in areas such as: Renewable and sustainable energy  (hydro, wind, air, solar); Energy poverty and energy security; Energy efficiency and environmental security; Energy industries as drivers of economic growth; Energy independence at regional, national, community and household levels ; Energy innovation and indigenous sources of energy as means to decrease reliance on fossil fuels and carbon emissions; Energy infrastructure and regional integration as related to emergency preparedness (earthquakes, hurricanes, offshore drilling accidents); Research, development, deployment and dissemination of cleaner, cheaper and more efficient energy technologies to drive low-carbon economic growth.

Eligibility Requirements

- Have Colombian citizenship, a Colombian passport, and reside in Colombia at the time of application.  Candidates with U.S.-Colombia dual citizenship, or who possess or who have applied for a resident visa in the U.S., are ineligible.

- A Ph.D. or equivalent professional/terminal degree.  Candidates with a master’s degree are required to have a minimum of five years of research experience.

- Participants may be early or mid-career academics, applied researchers and/or professionals with research experience in the public, non-profit, or private sector.

- Demonstrate English language proficiency TOEFL IBT 80, CBT 213, PBT 550; IELTS 6.0. The results should be available by April 20th, 2012.

- Applicants should have particular expertise and research experience in one of the three identified program themes.

- Candidates must demonstrate current affiliation with a Colombian institution.

- Candidates are encouraged to include a letter of invitation from a U.S. host institution. If a candidate requires the Council of International Exchange of Scholars’ (CIES) assistance in securing an affiliation, the application should identify two or three prospective host institutions and include appropriate contact information.  Candidates should be encouraged to initiate contact with the potential hosts, though CIES can assist with finalizing the affiliation if the candidate is awarded a grant.

- Must not apply to other Fulbright grants simultaneously with the NEXUS Program.

- Former Fulbright grantees are eligible to apply.  However, a minimum of 5 years must have elapsed since the date of completion of the previous grant. (For serial grants, the five-year period begins at the end of the final grant in the series).

- Preference will be given to applicants who have not had substantial research, teaching, study or employment experience in the U.S., especially within the last five years.

- Fulbright Scholars enter the United States on an U.S. State Department Exchange Visitor (J-1) visa and are subject to the two-year home-country residency requirement.

Note: Scholars who have held J visas with sponsorship of more than six months are not eligible to reenter as J-1 Researchers or Lecturers for 12 months following the program sponsorship enddate. In addition, individuals who have previously held a J visa in the Professor or Research Scholar category are not eligible for sponsorship again in those two categories for a period of 24 months following the program sponsorship end date.

Program Activities

The grant period is from November 2012 through October 2013.  During this, grantees will be expected to:

- Conduct individual and team-based research projects to generate knowledge-based, policy-oriented solutions with immediate and practical implementation potential at the local, national, or regional levels. Scholars will be required to identify local stakeholders across a range of sectors (e.g. NGOs, government, business and industry, community) to promote implementation of the research project.

- Complete a 2-3 month research exchange visit to a university or research center in the United States.

- Participate in three 2-4 day meetings with the group at large during the grant period:

- Kick off meeting in November 2012

- Mid-term meeting in April 2013

- Final plenary seminar in September 2013

These full group meetings will be structured to share the results of individual research, define and share collaborative team-based research, seek new synergies, discuss the local, national, and/or regional implications of findings, and explore the possible practical outcomes to be implemented with local stakeholders.

- The research visit and participation at all three group meetings are mandatory.

- In addition to the meetings and exchange visits, participants are expected to
maintain intellectual collaboration in relevant thematic areas of the program for the duration of the grant period, under the guidance of the Fulbright NEXUS Lead Scholar

Grant Benefits

- Grant Stipend of US$30.000. This allowance is intended to support travel to all program meetings, travel and maintenance for the exchange visit and research materials and support.

- Accommodation and meals for all program meetings.

- The processing and cost of the U.S. visa.

- Health and accident insurance for up to 3 months to cover the period of the research visit to the U.S.

How to apply

Each candidate will be required to submit two on-line applications, one for CIES and one for Fulbright Colombia, no later than April 20, 2012.  Fulbright Colombia will review and nominate a maximum of 4 candidates from Colombia who will compete with all nominated candidates from the rest of the Western Hemisphere.  CIES www.cies.org will make the final selection of the grantees, subject to approval of the Fulbright Scholarship Board. 

Candidates may access the CIES on-line application at:
https://apply.embark.com/student/fulbright/scholars/30/

Candidates may access the Fulbright Colombia on-line application at:
http://www.fulbright.edu.co/onlineapplication

Calendar

Suplementary Information
Testimony of Ana María Lobo Guerrero (Nexus Grantee 2011)
Frequently asked Questions
Tutorial Videos
Centro de Consejería Educativa

Documents
Embark Application Instructions
Fulconnect Application Instructions
Check list