US opens applications for Fulbright Visiting Scholar Programme
The US embassy in Dhaka has announced the opening of applications for the Fulbright Visiting Scholar Programme for the 2024-25 session.
The prestigious programme extends grants to Bangladeshi scholars, allowing them to conduct post-doctoral research and teach at various US academic institutions. The grants span from a single academic semester to a full academic year.
The application deadline is set for 16 December, Saturday, at 11:59 pm (Washington DC time), the embassy said in a press release.
Experienced Bangladeshi professionals, university faculty members, and researchers at think-tanks and governmental or non-governmental organisations with ten or more years of professional experience have been invited to apply.
Scholars selected for the programme will receive a six-to-nine-month research or lecturing grant, commencing in September 2024.
The programme welcomes proposals on a range of topics in all disciplines, with a special focus on university administration and curriculum development, distance learning, education technology, public health, biological sciences, pharmacy, climate change and disaster management, urban planning, international relations, and other related fields.
Candidates must have excellent English language skills to function professionally in an American university setting.
This flagship professional development program entails the following:
Research grants: The Fulbright Visiting Scholar Programme provides six-to-nine-month research grants to scholars in all disciplines to conduct needs assessments and research related to institution or programme development, consult with administrators and instructors of post-secondary institutions in faculty development, and develop and assess academic curricula or educational materials.
Lecturing grants: This programme also offers one or two semester lecturing grants to Bangladeshi scholars and academics interested in teaching at American universities. Candidates interested in lecturing grants must have extensive teaching experience and a confirmed invitation to lecture at a host institution to be considered for a Fulbright grant.
During the programme, the Fulbright Visiting Scholars in the United States can pursue the following opportunities to engage in stimulating topics, meet other Fulbrighters, broaden their intellectual networks, and experience the diversity of higher education in the United States.
Outreach Lecturing Fund: The Outreach Lecturing Fund (OLF) provides funding for campuses to virtually host Fulbright Visiting Scholars, already in the United States, for short-term speaking engagements.
The OLF award is designed to enrich both institutions and Visiting Scholars through lectures that will promote academic disciplines and cultural understanding. Additionally, the OLF seeks to build relationships and partnerships with institutions that are currently underrepresented within the Fulbright Program to promote future opportunities.
These priority institutions include minority-serving institutions, community colleges, small liberal arts colleges, women’s colleges and art colleges, and geographically underrepresented institutions.
The Enrichment Programme: The Enrichment Program offers Fulbright Visiting Scholars a variety of activities that enhance their exchange programs. Enrichment programs help scholars navigate the complexities of the exchange program, access the network of Fulbright Scholars, enhance their professional skills, and consider topics of global importance.
These activities are designed to enable scholars to better experience America and to further the Fulbright Program's goal of increasing mutual understanding between the people of the US and people of other countries.
Over the past fifty years, 165 Bangladeshi scholars have participated in this flagship exchange. Fulbright Visiting Scholar alumni include academics, researchers, senior level government officials, development professionals, and many more scholars. Prominent Bangladeshi Visiting alumni include Dr Muhammad Yunus, whose lifelong dedication to empowering the world’s people living in poverty made him one of his generation’s most celebrated economists and the recipient of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize (jointly awarded with Grameen Bank) “for their efforts to create economic and social development from below.”