How much time must an ELISS fellow commit to the ELISS fellowship?
ELISS fellows must volunteer approximately five hours of personal time per week and to travel three times over the course of the 15-month program. ELISS is designed as an extracurricular activity which must be scheduled around regular work and study.
Will this program slow a fellow’s time to degree?
It is very important for both our success and yours that ELISS fellows graduate in a timely manner, so we encourage you to talk with your students about their time management plans, as will we. ELISS may help fellows to graduate even more quickly, given that professional development programs often help students to become more productive researchers. For example, see Furhmann, C.N et al. “Improving Graduate Education to Support a Branching Career Pipeline: Recommendations Based on a Survey of Doctoral Students in the Basic Biomedical Sciences.” CBE Life Sciences Education 10, no. 3 (2011): 239–249
Will ELISS fellows receive a stipend?
No. ELISS fellows volunteer their time as a public service that also promotes professional networking and development. Think of it as the student equivalent to a faculty member’s participation on a university or government advisory committee.
What are the benefits for participants?
ELISS fellows will learn leadership, problem–solving, and team–building skills that are critical for success in any career. Perhaps even more valuable than the skills and knowledge that ELISS fellows will gain is the professional network that they will gain across campuses, disciplines, and institutions. ELISS will pay for all travel and training and provide a budget for fellows to carry out their ELISS projects. As funding allows, ELISS graduates will be eligible to apply for additional professional development and seed funding.
What will be required of faculty supervisors of ELISS fellows?
Permission. Semi–finalists will be required to obtain the consent of their academic advisors at the end of August to be considered as finalists.
How did you select partner campuses?
In fall of 2012 and 2014, graduate and professional students voiced their enthusiasm for ELISS through an online signature drive. More than 4500 students from 110 campuses participated and campuses with the most signatures from a range of disciplines were invited to become founding partners. Provosts and other senior administrators at ELISS partner campuses expressed their support for ELISS and made a financial contribution to the program.
If you have any additional questions, please email us at info@elissfellows.org