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Call for Applications: 2009 International Research and Exchanges Board (IREX)/Woodrow Wilson Center Regional Policy Symposium

IREX (The International Research & Exchanges Board)—in collaboration with the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars' Kennan Institute (WWC)—will be administering a research symposium this spring that will examine issues concerning youth in Eurasia and Eastern Europe from multi-disciplinary perspectives.

The research symposium, supported by the United States Department of State (Title VIII Program), will bring American junior and senior scholars and members of the policy community together to study and discuss timely topics as they relate to youth in these regions. Possible topics may include: economic trends; political parties; education reform; public health; reproductive trends; trafficking and other cross-border criminal activity; and other related topics.

Junior scholars will be chosen based on a national competition to present their current research on the topic of the Symposium. Grants will be awarded to approximately ten junior scholars.

The Symposium is scheduled to take place in early April 2009 in the Washington, DC, metropolitan area and will involve two full days of reviews of current research projects, roundtable discussions, and the development of policy recommendations.

Technical Eligibility Requirements:

-Applicants must be US citizens or permanent residents of the United States who are currently residing in the US.

-Applicants must either be currently enrolled in an MA, MS, MBA, JD, or PhD program or have held a graduate degree for 10 years or less. Applicants who hold an academic post must be pre-tenure.

Grant Provisions:

-Round-trip airfare (provided by IREX through its travel office) and/or surface transportation from anywhere in the United States to the symposium site.

-Meals and accommodations for the duration of the symposium.

IREX/WWC Selection Criteria:

The Regional Policy Symposium is conducted as a merit-based open competition. After the deadline, all eligible applications will be reviewed by a selection committee. The IREX selection committee for this program is composed of five senior scholars who represent a broad cross-section of US academic institutions and disciplines. Selection committee members are familiar with IREX programs and, in many cases, have participated in an IREX program at some point in their careers. IREX staff only provides administrative support to the committee and does not vote in the final selections.

The selection committee will consider the following aspects of each application when selecting participants:

-Demonstrated interest and commitment of the applicant to policy research in youth issues in the region

-Organization and clarity of the research summary

-Relevance of the applicant's proposed presentation to the US policy-making community

-Ability to contribute to policy dialogue on youth issues in the region

Application Instructions and Submission Guidelines:

Completed applications must include:

-The one page 2009 Regional Policy Symposium application form

-A three-to-four page research summary of the research to be presented at the Symposium (please see below)

-A Curriculum Vitae

Applications may be sent by e-mail to symposium@irex.org or by post to:

Regional Policy Symposium
IREX
2121 K St., NW
Suite 700
Washington, DC 20037

For emailed applications: In order to ensure the proper processing of your application, please include your last name in the email subject line (example: Symposium Application for Jones). Please carefully label all attachments with your last name as well as a description of the document (example: "Symposium JONES application form"; "Symposium JONES research summary"; "Symposium JONES CV").

Applications must be received no later than 5:00pm on Monday, December 1, 2008.

DO NOT SEND APPLICATIONS TO THE WOODROW WILSON CENTER OR TO THE KENNAN INSTITUTE.

Research Summary Guidelines:

Format:

Four to five pages - one-sided, typewritten and double-spaced

Content:

-Provide title of research project

-State the hypotheses and objectives of the research concisely and completely

-Provide a brief description of the anticipated impact of this research, initial results and why and how this research relates to the topic of the Symposium

-Include a section explaining the relevance of this research to the US policy community

To receive more information on the 2009 Regional Policy Symposium, please send e-mail inquiries to symposium@irex.org . If you would like to speak to a Kennan Institute staff member, please contact Liz Malinkin at liz.malinkin@wilsoncenter.org.

Click here to download application.

Click here to be redirected to information about the Symposium on the IREX website.

Related Program

Kennan Institute

The Kennan Institute is the premier US center for advanced research on Russia and Eurasia and the oldest and largest regional program at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. The Kennan Institute is committed to improving American understanding of Russia, Ukraine, Central Asia, the Caucasus, and the surrounding region though research and exchange.  Read more