The BGI Global Research Fellowship provides rising Juniors and Seniors an opportunity to conduct media-based research on international aid effectiveness in a developing country. Ten fellows will be selected to spend the summer in ten different countries for this unique eight-week field placement. Through interactions with a wide range of stakeholders, fellows will be able to identify organizations that have adopted innovative and effective models for their work. Throughout the field experience, fellows will be able to share their findings with a larger audience through digital media projects. The summer field placement is eight-weeks long and can take place anytime between May and September, 2010.
Fellows will be assigned based on their preferences to work in one of ten possible research countries including Cameroon, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, the Marshall Islands, Mongolia, Morocco, Romania, Tanzania, or Vietnam.
For more information, download the Fellowship Description
To apply, download the 2010 Fellowship Application (January 5th, 2010 deadline)
Ali Boyd (Bosnia-Herzegovina)
Ali Boyd is a sophomore at Furman University. She is majoring in Political Science with Latin American and Poverty studies concentrations. Her volunteer experiences in Latin America, particularly in Nicaragua, have catalyzed her passion for social justice. She also serves as a volunteer in the U.S. through her work with Somali Bantu refugees in Columbia, South Carolina. On campus, Ali is involved with social justice organizations like Africa Rising, and the International Justice Mission. She is also involved with the Mere Christianity Forum. Her leadership positions are focused on advocacy and equipping students with resources for ethical lifestyles.
> Ali's Blog
Dean Chahim (Nicaragua)
Dean is a sophomore at the University of Washington and is pursuing a BSE in Civil Engineering. He has interned in two engineering labs over the past two summers. In September 2008 he traveled to Bolivia with his university's chapter of Engineers Without Borders to implement major rural roadway improvements. He is now the Projects Director and Co-Lead for the Bolivia projects for the chapter. This year he is helping coordinate an implementation of a ventilated cook stoves, metal roofing, and water systems project in Bolivia. He is conversationally fluent in Spanish and is learning Persian. In his spare time he is an avid photographer and cook. He plans to pursue a career in engineering with NGOs, hoping one day to work in his parents' home of Afghanistan. > Dean's Blog
Julie Gladnick (Malawi)
Julie is a sophomore at the University of Virginia, majoring in Middle Eastern Studies with a focus on Media Studies. Her research interests include youth empowerment and education, human rights, and global development. In 2006 she created a short documentary film about the Iranian women's movement. Currently she works in an AmeriCorps program for at-risk children in Virginia. Within UVA, she helps coordinate a tutoring program for Darfur refugees through the university's STAND chapter. Julie traveled to Ecuador in 2008 to serve as a volunteer teacher, and in March of 2009 she volunteered in Peru with A Broader View at an orphanage and street children's center. Her future plans include teaching abroad in South America. > Julie's Blog
Eva Orbuch (Bolivia and Peru)
Eva Orbuch is a sophomore at Stanford University. She is majoring in Urban Studies with a concentration in Urban Society and Social Change. She plans on taking two major routes within her concentration: social/political change, and organizational form, NGOs and social entrepreneurship. Eva has traveled extensively and is especially drawn to Latin America. She also hopes to study abroad in South Africa next winter. This summer, she will be focusing her research on micro-credit organizations that deliver social services like health and education to their clients. At Stanford, Eva has been involved in co-founding and leading the student group Challah For Hunger, a group where students get together to bake bread and sell it to raise money for relief organizations. She also loves dancing and drumming from all around the world. > Eva's Blog
Leana Schwartz (Philippines)
Leana Schwartz is a junior at the University of Puget Sound. She recently returned from a semester studying abroad in Tanzania, where she studied wildlife ecology and conservation, and spent a month conducting independent research. Leana speaks conversational Kiswahili and has moderate French proficiency skills. Previously, she spent a month in the Democratic Republic of Congo working with an orphanage to create a short documentary used for fundraising. She is passionate about the outdoors and enjoys leading university backpacking trips. She is a member of the permaculture club on campus and spent a summer working on organic farms throughout France. Leana holds leadership positions at her school in the sustainability advisory committee and in the club Students for a Free Tibet. She is majoring in international political economy with a specialization in international development. > Leana's Blog
Rebecca Vitale (Senegal)
Rebecca Vitale is a Junior at Harvard University and is majoring in History of Science. She is originally from Louisville, Kentucky, where she spent her entire life until moving to Cambridge for college. At Harvard, Rebecca is involved with Strong Women Strong Girls, a youth mentoring program, as well as the Phillips Brooks House Association, a student-run public service organization that provides programming and support to constituents all over the Greater Boston area. Several years ago, Rebecca received an Edward Lamont Public Service Grant to work in Rabat, Morocco as a teaching assistant at the Ibny School. This unique elementary school was created to serve the homeless children of Rabat's medina. After completing her undergraduate degree, Rebecca plans to go to medical school and hopes to work in global health. > Rebecca's Blog