The University of Birmingham and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign recently launched a Global South Fellowship to promote research collaboration and partnership development for early career researchers from countries within the Global South.
The fellowship is supported by funding from the Birmingham-Illinois Partnership for Discovery, Engagement & Education’s Signature Initiative. This new initiative builds on the decade long collaboration and cognate research areas between the two institutions with the goal to add partners and organizations within the Global South as collaborators.
In April 2024, both institutions announced $400,000 in funding for the BRIDGE Signature Initiative, which will support three major research projects in addition to the fellowship program: global health, sustainability, and education access and equity. The research topics also emphasize the responsibility of higher education institutions to serve local and global communities.
“We very intentionally selected the focus areas of global health, sustainability, and education access and equity to align the BRIDGE Strategic Initiative with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals,” said Professor Reitumetse Obakeng Mabokela, associate chancellor and vice provost for global affairs and strategies at Illinois. "Seeking new discoveries to address these shared global challenges allows institutions of higher education to deliver on our promise to serve local and global communities.”
Birmingham and Illinois have been closely collaborating under the BRIDGE framework for more than a decade with the partnership yielding an impressive array of outcomes including 115 pairings of academics across all five Birmingham colleges and 13 colleges and schools and four research institutes at Illinois.
Additionally, more than $1.1 million has been invested in the partnership since March 2014, leading to an additional $5.4 million in external funding secured by BRIDGE collaborators.
Professor Robin Mason, pro-vice-chancellor (international) at the University of Birmingham, said the inspiration for the fellowship came, in part, from the University of Birmingham’s Brazil Visiting Fellows Scheme, which provides early career researchers working at recognized universities in Brazil the opportunity to spend up to three months at Birmingham carrying out identified research projects.
“We’re looking forward to developing mutually beneficial partnerships with researchers and their home institutions across the Global South that will enhance people’s lives by delivering innovative research in sustainability, education equity and global health,” Mason said.
How to Apply
The two universities are currently accepting fellowship applications until January 31, 2025. To learn more about the aims of the program, funding and accommodations, application dates and deadlines, and more, visit the BRIDGE website at https://bridgepartnership.org.
Questions about the application process may be directed to:
- University of Birmingham: Mary Elliston, Global Partnerships Manager at m.e.elliston@bham.ac.uk.
- University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign: Shuo (Erica) Wang, Associate Director for Global Relations, swang69@illinois.edu.
Marta Schneider is the director for global communications in Illinois International. She can be reached at martasch@illinois.edu.