RSS2011-2012 FELLOWSHIP OPPORTUNITY
US Embassy Policy Specialist (EPS) Program
IREX is pleased to announce 2011-2012 competition for the US Embassy Policy Specialist (EPS) Program.
EPS provides fellowships to US scholars and professionals for up to eight weeks to serve US Embassies in Eurasia as policy specialists on a chosen topic and pursue their own research project independently. EPS Grant covers the cost of travel and in-country housing and provides a stipend for living expenses.
Eligible Embassies and Fields (for more detailed descriptions of research fields please see application instructions posted on the link below):
Azerbaijan (US Embassy, Baku)
· Caspian Geography/Environment
· Labor
· Education
Georgia (US Embassy, Tbilisi)
· Media
Kazakhstan (US Embassy, Astana)
· Civil Society
· Foreign Relations
Kyrgyzstan (US Embassy, Bishkek)
· Anti-Corruption
· Policy Coordination
· Cross-border trade
Russia
· History of US-Russia Relations (US Consulate, St. Petersburg)
· Environment (US Embassy, Moscow)
· Science Policy (US Embassy, Moscow)
· Energy/Public Policy (US Embassy, Moscow)
Tajikistan (US Embassy, Dushanbe)
· International Relations
· Economics/Corruption
Turkmenistan (US Embassy, Ashgabat)
· Religion
· Education
· Alternative/Solar Energy
Ukraine (US Embassy, Kyiv)
· Environmental Studies/Public Health
The EPS application and instructions are available on the IREX website:
http://www.irex.org/application/us-embassy-policy-specialist-program-eps-application
Completed applications are due no later than March 15, 2011
Scholars and Professionals with advanced degrees (PhD, MA, MS, MFA, MBA, MPA, MLIS, MPH, JD, MD) and US citizenship are eligible to apply for the EPS Program.
Questions may be addressed to the EPS Program Staff at eps@irex.org or by telephone at 202-942-9111.
EPS is funded by the United States Department of State Title VIII Program
Hello,
I am considering applying for a grant to do education research in Turkmenistan. The issue that I face is that I do not speak either Russian or Turkmen. However, since Turkmenistan has begun to adopt English as a second official language, I thought that perhaps there would be a possibility of still conducting the study either through an interpreter or directly with teachers who are stronger in English. If this is possible, then I would be glad to complete the application. If not, I will not trouble you with it.
To be a bit more specific, I’ve recently received a grant that, among other things, will fund the development of a rubric to assess elements of inquiry-based science instruction and integrated STEM education (“STEM” being Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics). I will be using the rubric to assess instruction in U.S. schools and in several international sites to which I will plan to travel in the next 18 months (Tanzania, Malaysia, India–and perhaps another in an Arab country for which the proposal is still outstanding). My interest in Turkmenistan is that it seems there would be a reciprocal benefit–I would gain data for my research, and officials in the country would benefit as I provide data and analysis regarding aspects of education there.
Your guidance would be very much appreciated.
Respectfully,
Ed Robeck
Dear Ed,
We would recommend getting in touch with IREX administration directly at eps@irex.org or by telephone at 202-942-9111.
Also, you might want to check out this other program: http://www.geeo.org/ They don’t send people to Central Asia, but they do cover other parts of the world.
CEERES Staff