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Quick Summary: I’m totally delighted to announce that I have been selected as the Yahoo! Fellow in International Values, Communications, Technology, and Global Internet for 2008-09 at Georgetown University.
I’m totally delighted to announce that I have been selected as the Yahoo! Fellow in International Values, Communications, Technology, and Global Internet for 2008-09 at The Institute for the Study of Diplomacy (ISD) associated with The Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service (SFS) at Georgetown University.
The fellowship is funded by the $1 million Yahoo! Fund on International Values, Communications Technology & the Global Internet, which was established at Georgetown University by a gift from Yahoo! Inc. There is only one such position open for each academic year and I’m the second Yahoo! Fellow.
The Yahoo! Fellow is chosen from applicants drawn from the government, corporate, non-profit and academic sectors with interest in BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China). Two graduate students from the Master of Science in Foreign Service (MSFS) program at the SFS are also selected to as Junior Yahoo! Fellows to engage in research associated with the Yahoo! Fellow. Part of the research done by the Yahoo! Fellow is also incorporated into the MSFS program as guest lectures, special seminars, case studies and/ or course modules.
My research will focus on how social media in BRIC countries will develop differently from the first world countries and the implications this will have on how individuals and institutions in these countries engage with social media. Some of my posts in the ‘Flat or Not’ series are a precursor to the research I’ll be doing during my fellowship.
I must tell you, by the way, that Dr. Irene Wu, who was the Yahoo! Fellow for 2007-08, has set impossibly high standards for me.
First, she has a really impressive background, both in terms of academic credentials (B.A. from Harvard University and Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University) and work experience (Director of Research in Federal Communications Commission). As the Yahoo! Fellow, Dr. Wu not only did some excellent research on how technological change transforms political power, but also taught a course in the MSFS program at the SFS. If that doesn’t sound impressive enough, this will — Yahoo! co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Jerry Yang attended Dr. Wu’s research presentation. And, yes, her book on telecommunications policy reform in China is being published by Stanford University Press.
Phew! If I manage to do half of all that during the ten months of my fellowship, I’ll think of my time as well-spent.
I had applied for the fellowship way back in March (thanks to Juliana) and Georgetown University confirmed my selection almost two months back. While most of my online and offline friends already know about it, I was waiting for my J1 visa to be issued before I made a formal announcement on my blog.
No, I haven’t left my job. The Tata Group, like always, has been good to me, and given me a sabbatical. But I will have to leave my lovely house (sigh!) and give away or put away the overwhelming number of things I own.
(Update: In fact, I’m giving away everything I own to one lucky reader.)
My tickets are not done yet, but I’ll be in Washington DC in the second week of August, after a week’s detour to Chicago to meet a friend. So, if you are in Chicago or Washington DC, do send me an e-mail and we’ll meet up. If you are in Washington DC, and know of a furnished one bedroom apartment for up to $1500 a month, walking distance from The Institute for the Study of Diplomacy, do ping me, and you’ll have my undying gratitude.
Finally, if you are in India, and dropping into Mumbai in July, do give me a call at 9223366624 to meet up. The going away parties start this Saturday and everybody’s invited.
Related posts:
- Check Out the Official Georgetown University Yahoo! Fellow Blog: How Global Values Shape Communications Technologies
- Call for Applications: 2009-10 Yahoo! Fellow at Georgetown University
- My Talk and Panel on International Digital Activism at the Yahoo! Fellowship Event at Georgetown University
- How International Values Shape Communications Technologies Podcast – Episode 1
- I’m a 2009 Fellow of the Society for New Communications Research
