The Fulbright New Century Scholars global program brought together groups of approximately 30 outstanding research scholars and professionals from the U.S. and other participating countries. Participants were selected through an open competition to conduct multi-disciplinary research on a global theme. Aimed at bringing new depth and visibility to the core program, the Fulbright New Century Scholar Program supported interdisciplinary, collaborative research across borders. As of November 2010, no new topic is planned.
The aim of the New Century Scholars Program is currently continued on a regional level through the Fulbright NEXUS Program.
Previous
NCS Programs >
Fulbright New Century Scholars launched “Professors Beyond Borders” to assist with sustainable development projects.
In March 2001, the Bureau of Educational and
Cultural Affairs of the U.S. Department of State
and the Council for International Exchange of
Scholars, announced the launching of the Fulbright
new Century Scholars Program (NCS), one of three
new initiatives designed to build on the strengths
of the Fulbright Scholar Program by extending
its mission and outreach.
The New Century Scholars Program played a
vital role in forging new links among scholars
and professionals from around the world who
worked together to seek solutions to issues and
concerns that affect humankind.
- Each year approximately 30 outstanding scholars
and practitioners from the U.S. and abroad were selected as New Century Scholars to participate
in the program through an open competition.
Of the thirty, approximately one-third were U.S. citizens while the remaining two thirds
were visiting scholars from countries with
an operational Fulbright Scholar Program.
- NCS provided a platform for scholars from
the US and around the world to engage in debate
and dialogue based on multidisciplinary research
and to develop new global models for understanding
the social context within which nations and
communities shape their responses to the many
challenges of the 21st century. This particular
aspect of the New Century Scholars program was
a unique feature that distinguished it from
the core Fulbright Scholar Program.
- While NCS Scholars' pursuit of individual
research objectives were intrinsic to a collaborative
and comparative analysis of the issues elaborated
by the program, prospective applicants were advised that NCS was not the best vehicle
for conducting a traditional research project.
Under the guidance of an appointed Distinguished
Scholar Leader, NCS Scholars were challenged to move beyond their individual research and to engage in collaborative, multidisciplinary
examination of the announced topic.
To create a platform for collaborative thinking
and analysis, NCS combined the core Fulbright
research exchange experience with a series of three
in-person seminar meetings and ongoing virtual communication
among the multinational and multidisciplinary participants
under the guidance of the NCS Distinguished Scholar
Leader. At the end of the program year, NCS Scholars
again convened to share the results of their
individual research and collaborative engagement
and to develop a set of recommendations for initiatives
that would translate the results of their collaborative
thinking into tangible impact on the local, regional
or global level.
|
