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Tuesday, October 12, 2010

UNDP Asia-Pacific Human Development Academic Fellowships for Asia and the Pacific

Overview

The aim of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Academic Fellowships for Asia and the Pacific is to analyse issues from the human development perspective, with a focus on fostering creative thinking and innovative research on the subject among young people. The research must focus on a well-defined aspect of human development, could be theoretical, applied, policy-oriented or a combination and must amount to a substantive contribution to human development thinking relevant for the region.

The Fellowship is intended for young Ph.D. students who are at an advanced dissertation stage working on a topic related to human development – theoretical, applied or policy oriented.

Theme – Climate Change and Human Development

Human development is about expanding human potential and enlarging human freedom. Climate change is a human development challenge, as it threatens to erode human freedoms and limit choice and plunge large numbers into overty and hardship.

Climate change is hampering efforts to deliver the MDG promise as it undermines international efforts to combat poverty and exacerbates already existing inequalities. Those, in turn, can result in an increase in conflict over sharing natural resources. Climate change is in fact an increasingly powerful driver of wider inequalities between and within countries, also between women and men.

Climate change can result in increased frequency of extreme weather events, flooding, storms, drought, increases in sea temperatures, and melting of glaciers, etc., which effect negatively agriculture and health/nutrition. This has negative implications on the livelihood of poor and vulnerable communities who depend largely on agriculture and natural resource management. In particular, women are affected in their roles of food producers and providers, guardians of health, and care givers. Reduced employment opportunities, for example for women working in agricultural fifields, constitute a net loss in income which leads to a loss in savings, making it even harder for households to cope with disasters.


The magnitude of this long term challenge can be assessed considering that an additional 1.8 billion people are expected to face water stress by 2080, with large areas of Central Asia, northern parts of South Asia and northern China facing a grave ecological crisis as a result of glacial retreat and changed rainfall patterns. Up to 330 million people in coastal and low-lying areas are expected to be displaced through flflooding and tropical storm activity. In the Asia Pacific region, in particular, over 70 million people in Bangladesh and 22 million people in Viet Nam could be affected by global warming-related flflooding.

What are the mechanisms through which the ecological impacts of climate change affect the poor? Are there examples of good practices to ensure climate and human security?

Have climate change and other environmental concerns been integrated in development planning in the context of environment protection elopment planning in the context of environm tion and sustainable development? What has been the effectiveness of policies introduced? What is a possible agenda to promote human development and climate security? These are some of the questions that could be addressed.

The Fellowship

The UNDP Human Development Academic Fellowship for Asia Pacific carries an award of US$ 10,000. The students will be required to submit to UNDP a copy of their fifinal approved dissertation. In addition, Fellows may be expected to present their work in workshops/seminars and other events arranged by UNDP (travelrelated costs will be covered separately).
The thesis will acknowledge UNDP’s support by saying: “The author acknowledges the financial support received from the UNDP Asia Pacific Human Development Academic Fellowship for the research.”

Application Process

- All candidates must complete a formal application in English or with an English translation, including:
- Summary statement of the objectives of the proposal
- Project proposal not exceeding 2,500 words
- Curriculum vitae
- Incomplete applications or those received after the due date will not be processed.


Eligibility

- Be a citizen of a developing country in the Asia Pacific region (1. Afghanistan,2. Bangladesh,3. Bhutan,4. Cambodia,5. China,6. Cook Islands,7. Democratic People’s,Republic of Korea,8. Federated States of Micronesia,9. Fiji,10. India,11. Indonesia,12. Iran, Islamic Republic of 13. Kiribati,14. Lao People’s Democratic Republic,15. Malaysia,16. Maldives,17. Marshall Islands,18. Mongolia,19. Myanmar,20. Nauru,21. Nepal,22. Niue,23. Pakistan,24. Palau,25. Papua New Guinea,26. The Philippines,27. Republic of Korea,28. Samoa,29. Solomon Islands,30. Sri Lanka,31. Thailand,32. Timor-Leste,33. Tokelau,34. Tonga,35. Tuvalu,36. Vanuatu,37. Viet Nam)
- Submit a proposal approved by her/his direct supervisor at the University in hich Ph.D. is being pursued
- Have a Masters degree in a relevant discipline such as a social science, liberal arts, or management and be currently enrolled as a full time Ph.D. student
- Have identified a human development-related topic (further reading on Human Development topics is encouraged prior to submission of application.
For a list of readings on human development)
- Not be a UN Staff member
- Be younger than age 30. In exceptional cases the age requirement may be relaxed to 35 years to accommodate candidates who have returned to fulltime study after a period of work and/or family responsibilities

Selection Criteria

- Exceptional degree of creativity in choice of idea or topic
- Stage of development of the proposal
- Value-addition or new direction to the human development concept, methodology, analysis, application or policy relevance
- Track record of past accomplishments
- Time needed for completing the work undertaken

Selection will be based on an assessment of written proposals up to 2,500 words. A review of eligibility and assessment of the proposals submitted will be the basis for short listing. Short listed candidates will be required to participate in an interview. An independent selection committee will review the proposals and interact with the short listed candidates for the fifinal selection.

Office Address
UNDP Asia-Pacific Regional Centre
United Nations Service Building, 3rd Floor Rajdamnern Nok Ave.
Bangkok Thailand

Email: regionalcentrebangkok@undp.org
Tel: +66 (2) 288-2129
Fax: +66 (2) 288-3032
Mailing Address

UNDP Asia-Pacific Regional Centre
GPO Box 618
Bangkok 10501
Thailand

Detail: http://asia-pacific.undp.org/practices/HDRU/documents/UNDPAcademic2010.pdf


Please kindly mention Scholarization.blogspot.com when applying for this scholarship


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Scholarship Team: Ph.D Scholar Krisstofferson Joniel Scholarship Adviser, PhD Scholar Vitom Chea Scholarship Adviser, PhD Scholar Rebecca T. Dalisay Scholarship Adviser, Ph.D Student Jiao Wang Scholarship Coordinator, MSc Student Dennise Maricel Scholarship Coordinator
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Scholarship Team: Ph.D Scholar Krisstofferson Joniel Scholarship Adviser, PhD Scholar Chea Vitom Scholarship Adviser and Senior Lecturer, PhD Scholar Rebecca T. Dalisay Scholarship Adviser, Ph.D Student Jiao Wang Scholarship Coordinator, MSc Student Dennise Maricel Scholarship Coordinator