Deadline: 30-Jun-23
Submissions are now open for the JSW Foundation Fellowship, a transformative two-year youth leadership programme, for the most promising young people of the country, that empowers them with deep insights of social development and nurtures a commitment to social change.
Through a personalised leadership journey, Fellows are equipped to formulate their own understanding of rural and social development, support community and youth development, and affect change at grassroots level.
Design a Project in the Following Areas
- Women Empowerment
- Strengthening community bonds with self-help groups, creating awareness about government initiatives and involving community members to improve livelihoods and living conditions for women.
- Community Development
- Helping local communities build up their capacity to thrive in a modern day India.
- Water
- Providing access to clean water for irrigation and agriculture for at-risk communities around India.
- Sustainable Livelihood
- Empowering communities to support themselves with self-sustained income – leveraging both agricultural and non-agricultural opportunities.
- Sanitation
- Creating innovation in waste management and hygiene, contextualised for rural communities.
- Education
- Fellows work to facilitate self-sustaining changes in the lives of students and teachers to create exponential improvements.
- Health
- Improving health outcomes for community diseases, menstrual health and hygiene.
Key Programme Pillars
The Fellowship Programme is designed to nurture the innate leadership potential of extraordinary young Indians, through four key programme pillars.
- Skill Building: Commencing with a 2-week in-person induction and training the Fellows will be equipped with basics of development theory and skills to initiate their field projects. Over the course of two years, regular training programmes will be conducted across diverse thematic areas, as per the needs expressed by the cohort.
- Rural Immersion: Close to 21 months of the Fellowship tenure will be dedicated to a full-time Development Project hosted by rural organisations. Development Projects will be offered on a range of social development issues such as sustainable livelihoods, community development, women empowerment, water, health & hygiene, sanitation, education & environment. A key component of all Development Projects will be engaging with the local community and supporting the development of select community members with an aim to nurture community leaders and entrepreneurship.
- Peer Learning: Fellows will be expected to share their learnings and progress within the Fellowship team and externally, through multiple mediums. Dedicated sessions will be organised to facilitate reflection on their experience and journey beyond the immediate outcomes of their development projects or theoretical constructs imparted during formal training sessions.
- Mentorship: During Development Projects, each Fellow (or a pair) will be supported by a Field Mentor to navigate challenges related to community work and Development Projects. Parallelly, Leadership Guides from diverse professional streams, will guide Fellows in their own personal leadership quest. Interactions will also be organised with a spectrum of industry and social leaders during trainings for a broader exposure and development perspectives.
Fellow Support
- Financial
- All Fellows will be covered under a Group Policy for Cashless Medical and Personal Accident Insurance.
- A monthly stipend of Rs 30,000 to cover the cost of boarding, lodging and other living expenses.
- Travel expense reimbursement to attend trainings and travel to field projects. Any other travel expenses incurred on instruction of the programme management team will also be reimbursed.
- An optional exposure visit (relevant to the field project / domain of Fellows’ interest) outside the field project. Each Fellow may apply once for the exposure visit during the Fellowship tenure.
- Insurance
- All Fellows will be covered under a Group Policy for Cashless Medical and Personal Accident Insurance.
- Leave
- Fellows are eligible for a 7-day leave in each term of their Development Project, subject to approval by their reporting manager at the project location and the Fellowship Programme Head
- Other
- Any other support towards professional development and Field Project execution may be considered on case-by-case basis by the programme management team.
Unlock your true potential as a JSW Foundation Fellow
- Understand the challenges faced and the interventions needed in your assigned thematic area
- Design a project you will work on, with achievable objectives across two years
- Research on possible interventions, and plan the implementation of innovative ideas
- Implement solutions and measure their impact
- Unlock lifelong access to a tribe of young changemakers
- Network with field mentors and hone your leadership skills in the social impact space
Eligibility Criteria
To apply for the JSW Foundation Fellowship Programme you must be:
- A graduate/post graduate or a young professional with 1-7 years of work experience from a field such as science, humanities, engineering, medicine, agriculture or other professional streams.
- Less than 30 years old as on 1st May 2023.
- Conversant in English (as a primary medium of training) and at least 1 Indian language (for field projects).
- While a professional background in social work is not mandatory, those aware of the social sector and NGOs and have had a brief stint with the sector through sporadic or structured engagements are encouraged to apply.
- Potential applicants understand the risks and are willing to commit time for a deep engagement and a potential career in development.
For more information, visit JSW Foundation.