With the start of the new academic year, the EUI School of Transnational Governance (STG) will welcome a new cohort of Policy Leader Fellows. The programme, now in its fifth consecutive year, offers early and mid-career policy practitioners the means to enhance their professional subject and skills while participating in research and training activities by the STG and other EUI units.
A total of 30 fellows will come to Florence during the academic year; they were awarded a five or ten months fellowship starting in September and February. The fellowship welcomes applications from all over the world, regardless of nationality or age. This openness is also reflected in the traits of the incoming cohort: the countries of provenance range from the Philippines to Georgia and the work topics include "Addressing air quality as a development issue", "The role of media in exile in democratic transition" and "China's green Belt and Road Initiative in Africa". The average age is 36.6 years and female fellows make up the majority with over 60%. The experience of the last few years has shown that the fellows themselves, but also the EUI and STG community, largely benefit from the diversity of the group.
This year in particular, the arrival of the new fellows represents a special moment for the School, as the COVID-19 pandemic has had a major impact on international mobility. Despite the challenging circumstances of the past academic year, when most of the activities moved online, the previous cohort contributed in many ways to keeping the EUI's academic and policy activities active, including organising talk series, publications, blog posts or contributions to EUI events such as the State of the Union.
The STG now looks forward to the insights and contributions of the incoming cohort. Meet the new fellows!