The Climate Change Professional Fellows Program
Spring Component: April 3, 2011, to May 6, 2011
The Climate Change Professional Fellows Program is an international fellowship program which will convene professionals from four East Asian and Pacific countries—Australia, China, Indonesia and Japan—and the United States to explore the science, impact, adaptation, mitigation and actions related to climate change. The program will serve 40 participants, including 14 from the U.S. and 26 from the other participating countries, in three exchanges: fellows from abroad will come to the U.S., dividing their time among San Francisco, New York City and Washington, DC. These portions of the program will occur in Spring and Fall 2011. Also, U.S. fellows will travel to the partner countries during a three-week period in the summer of 2011.
The goal of the Professional Fellows Program is to create opportunities for professionals in the field of climate change to come together and share information and strategies for reducing carbon emissions. Participants will exchange ideas and best practices developed in each country, and share information on education and communication campaigns for those working in urban and rural areas that are most vulnerable to environmental devastation resulting from climate change.
Aspects and Details of the Fellowship: Baruch College will help select Fellows and will oversee the workshops that will be conducted in New York City for international Fellows. Workshops will cover topics such as:
- Strategies for the management of climate change in urban settings – the development oif Smart Cities and Smart Grid
- Strategies to reduce solid waste through changes in packaging and increased use of recycling;
- The challenges of building sustainable economies while preserving the environment;
Baruch College faculty will also organize internships for international Fellows that will allow the knowledge and lessons learned during the workshops to be implemented in the field. Fellows will work with officials from New York City government, including the New York City Council Committee on Environmental Protection, as well as private businesses and NGOs. The internships will immerse Fellows in work on climate change, real estate, transportation and other related issues.
The Professional Fellows from the participating partner countries will take part in a Washington, DC-based Professional Fellows Congress to be held by the State Department in Spring (May 4-5, 2011) and Fall 2011 (Oct 19-20, 2011). During this portion of the trip, participants will have an opportunity to meet and exchange ideas with other grantee organizations supported under this program.
Fellow Qualifications: Fellows are selected based on outstanding performance and the ability to play leadership roles in their organizations and in their communities. Partners use a competitive approach in selecting participants. All applicants must fulfill the following criteria:
- Be a citizen of Indonesia, China, Japan, or Australia.
- Have a strong interest as well as actively engaged in issues of climate change.
- Mid-level professional, media professional or established community leader.
- Able to participate in one of the two planned programs: Spring: April 3rd, 2011 to May 6th, 2011 or Fall: September 18th, 2011 to October 21th, 2011.
- Demonstrate commitment to community service.
- Have approval from current employer to take a leave of absence.
- Able to adapt to new environmental surroundings and challenges.
- Professional-level proficiency in English. Candidates will be interviewed over the phone to assess their language ability.
- Please click here for the program press release (.doc format)
- Please click here for the application packet to become a climate change fellow (.doc format)
- Please click here for information on insurane for participants (.pdf format)
- Please click here for the Baruch College website