PARTICIPANTS WHO COMPLETE THE PROGRAM ARE ELIGIBLE TO RECEIVE A RUTGERS UNIVERSITY DIGITAL BADGE.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Marybeth Gasman | marybeth.gasman@gse.rutgers.edu | 848-932-0848
NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J., September 24, 2024 –
The Rutgers Center for Minority Serving Institutions (CSMI) announces applications for our new Research and Innovation Fellowship. The virtual program is open to undergraduate and graduate students currently enrolled at any Minority Serving Institution (MSI) in the United States.
Funded by a grant from VentureWell, the program seeks to engage students in innovative problem-solving strategies on issues vital to their communities, such as, but not limited to, public health, access to new technologies, climate change, educational equity, voting access, or income inequality.
Participants will learn techniques for framing a problem from an asset-based perspective; collecting data in partnership with people who are directly affected by the problem; creating a prototype solution; evaluating the impact of their work; and disseminating their findings in a way that promotes public understanding, engagement, and action.
According to Alice Ginsberg, Associate Director for Research and Grant Development at CMSI, “Students at MSIs have much to contribute based on the successes and challenges in their lives. This unique fellowship program will provide them with concrete and innovative strategies to become local and national leaders where they will create positive and sustained change for the next generation.”
The six-session program includes an orientation on December 3, 2024, from 7:00 – 8:30 p.m.ET, and individual sessions that meet from 7:00-8:30 p.m. ET throughout the Spring semester. Thes sessions are:
Tuesday, January 28, 2025: Design Thinking
Tuesday, February 18, 2025: Participatory Action Research
Tuesday, March 25, 2025: Inquiry-Based Learning
Tuesday, April 29, 2025: Critical Evaluation Capital
Tuesday, May 20, 2025: Writing for Public Audiences
Marybeth Gasman, Samuel DeWitt Proctor Endowed Chair, and the Executive Director of CMSI, added, “At many MSIs, many students come from the surrounding community and plan to stay there upon graduation. They are thus deeply invested in the growth of these communities and bring fresh perspectives on the challenges facing these communities, as well as the inherent opportunities and resources that are often overlooked. This Fellowship Program will add to their toolboxes, helping them to foster and maintain mutually beneficial collaborations with community-based organizations.”
"VentureWell is proud to support CSMI's new Research and Innovation Fellowship," says Phil Weilerstein, president and CEO of VentureWell. "We look forward to seeing the creative, sustainable, and inclusive solutions that this fellowship produces, and all the ways it benefits the local community and beyond."
Professors from a diverse group of institutions and academic disciplines will join the program leaders, sharing how they have used these strategies in their practice. Students who complete the program and submit a Capstone project (a short policy/research brief, op-ed, or a mini–Ted Talk) by June 15, 2025, will be eligible to receive a Rutgers University Digital Badge.
Application Link
Learn More
For more information, contact Gisselle Criollo, Gisselle.Criollo@gse.rutgers.edu
