ASU, USAID fellowship program to address global development challenges

A new partnership between Arizona State University and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) will position ASU graduate students to confront the most pressing issues faced by the developing world.

Through USAID’s Global Development Lab, a Research and Innovation (R&I) Fellowships program will be established at ASU to engage the next generation of development professionals. The program will serve as a model for knowledge exchange, supporting top-tier graduate students as they work with USAID and host organizations throughout the world.

The ASU R&I Fellowships program will be announced at a student engagement session from 2:30 p.m. to 4 p.m., Oct. 6, in the University Club Heritage Room on the Tempe campus. In addition to providing an overview of the program, including eligibility and application information, the session will offer attendees the opportunity to engage with USAID representatives.

"Together with the U.S. Global Development Lab of USAID, we are partnering with Arizona State University and other institutions to address global hunger and malnutrition, prevent maternal and child deaths, and increase access to clean energy and healthy water,” says USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah. “These fellowships will support the best and brightest minds capable of creating innovative solutions to improve or save the lives of more than 200 million people around the world in the next five years."

The ASU R&I Fellowships program will be administered by ASU’s Julie Ann Wrigley Global Institute of Sustainability. Using its convening capacity and international visibility, the ASU Wrigley Institute will assemble a transdisciplinary cohort of exceptional fellows and faculty mentors.

In the program’s initial year, applicants must be enrolled in one of five selected pilot schools: the School of Sustainability, W. P. Carey School of Business, College of Public Programs, School of Life Sciences or Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering. In subsequent years, all graduate students interested in international development will be encouraged to apply.

Christopher Boone, dean of the School of Sustainability and the program’s contact, sees the partnership with USAID as one of many benefits.

“This partnership will provide USAID with the deep intellectual and community engagement expertise of ASU,” says Boone. “At the same time, it will provide graduate students with the opportunity to seek solutions to development challenges that they are genuinely passionate about while acquiring invaluable research experience and international connections.”

Online applications for the ASU R&I Fellowships program will be available beginning Monday, Oct. 6. Submissions must be received by Nov. 14.