Ranking Digital Rights is pleased to announce two fellowship opportunities for 2016:
Information Controls Fellowship Program
COMPASS Summer Fellows Program
Ranking Digital Rights will also consider fellows sponsored through other funding schemes. All prospective fellows are encouraged to contact Nathalie Marechal (marechal@rankingdigitalrights.org) with any questions not covered by this web page or by the links provided.
Qualifications:
- Graduate student or seasoned researcher with background in computer science, engineering, Internet and telecommunications law, communication studies, or other relevant field
- Strong technical background
- Prior academic research experience or professional work related to freedom of expression, censorship, privacy, and surveillance in the ICT sector
- Prior experience working collaboratively with teams and meeting deadlines
- International experience and ability to read at least one language other than English is a major plus
Information Controls Fellowship Program
The Open Technology Fund’s Information Controls Fellowship Program (ICFP) cultivates research, outputs, and creative collaboration at different levels and across institutions on the topic of information controls – specifically repressive Internet censorship and surveillance. Applicants develop their own research plan, which must adhere to the parameters described on the program website.
Senior Fellowship
Start date: Flexible; Summer or Fall 2016
Duration: 6 months or 12 months
Eligibility: Graduate students and seasoned researchers with backgrounds in computer science, engineering, Internet and telecommunications law, or communications studies with a strong technical background
Application deadline: March 25, 2016
Stipend: $4,200 per month, plus travel allowance ($2,500 for 6 months, $5,000 for 12 months)
A senior fellow might focus their work in one of several ways:
- Support a regional research partner in developing and launching a national or regional version of the Index;
- Work with NGOs or research partners to develop related research and/or technical testing projects, using the Index data as a starting point, or the fellow might develop such a project themselves as proof of concept for other researchers to emulate or expand upon;
- Carry out a year-long research and pilot testing project that would produce a proposal for how we might modify the Index methodology to add new technologies and/or company types.
Seasonal Fellowship
Start date: Flexible; Summer or Fall 2016
Duration: three months
Eligibility: Graduate students and seasoned researchers with backgrounds in computer science, engineering, Internet and telecommunications law, or communications studies with a strong technical background.
Application deadline: March 25, 2016
Stipend: $2,500 per month
A seasonal fellow might focus their work in one of several ways:
- Carry out a research project designed to help us to identify, develop, and/or test out changes to the Index research methodology to accommodate new types of companies or technologies.
- Specific responsibilities to be assigned based on the fellow’s skills and interests, and on the needs of the project.
For more information on the Information Controls Fellowship Program, see https://www.opentech.fund/fellowships/icfp.
COMPASS Summer Fellows Program
Start date: June 2016
Duration: Eight weeks
Eligibility: Must be PhD student in Communication at a participating university
Application deadline: Varies by school
Stipend: Varies by school
The Consortium on Media Policy Studies (COMPASS) supports eight-week fellowships for PhD students in Communication Studies from participating universities, providing them with valuable experience and insight into the world of media policy-making in Washington, DC.
Fellows must first apply for funding through their sponsoring university before applying for placement with Ranking Digital Rights. They commit to eight weeks of full-time work at Ranking Digital Rights’ Washington, DC offices, and to participating in other activities organized by the COMPASS program.
The 2016 COMPASS Fellow will primarily conduct research for the 2017 Corporate Accountability Index. Other responsibilities to be assigned based on the fellow’s skills and interests, and on the needs of the project.
For more information on the COMPASS program, see http://compassconsortium.org/.
