South Asia Course Module Development Grants for STEM Faculty
Improving capacity to produce South Asia* expertise in Penn’s professional schools, including in STEM fields, is one of the South Asia Center's major goals for 2014-18.
As part an effort to reach our goal, we will provide support for the development of new and significant South Asia course content in the STEM fields through awarding $2000 course module development grants.
Applications for South Asia Course Module Development Grants may be submitted at any time, and will be reviewed on a rolling basis.
*Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka
WHO IS ELIGIBLE to apply?
Applicants must be full-time faculty in a STEM or STEM-related discipline at the University of Pennsylvania.
WHAT KINDS OF Course Modules will the SAC Development Grant support?
Any new and significant course component relating to a South Asian country (Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka) will be considered. For example, a course on International Development Ethics might choose to introduce a set of case studies on microfinance outcomes in India. Other examples of new modules: the Bhopal disaster & Engineering ethics, case studies on building hydroelectric dams in India, etc. All proposals will be evaluated on the potential impact of the proposed module to expose students to South Asia in a meaningful way. Preference will be given to courses taught in regular rotation (not occasional electives).
WHAT KINDS OF SUPPORT can the SAC Development Grant provide?
We can support your project in two ways, with guidance and with funding:
Specific guidance will be provided by South Asia faculty specialists as well as faculty working in various disciplines. Our input and advice may take the following forms:
•
identifying the people and resources at Penn best positioned to contribute to your course module, and helping you to collaborate with them
•
arranging for guest lecturers on South Asia topics to visit your class
•
suggesting possible funding sources for further study of South Asia by faculty and students
Funding. We will award small grants of $2,000 to successful faculty applicants. Applications are reviewed and selections made by the South Asia Center’s Academic Advisory Committee, who will also review the final course syllabus upon completion of the new course module.
How to Apply
Applications can be submitted at any time. To apply, please email the following in a single PDF file to Rachelle Faroul, Associate Director, at rfaroul@sas.upenn.edu:
1.
A project title and 1-2 sentence description of the proposed new course module.
2.
A CV for the faculty instructor.
3.
A 500-or-less word narrative describing the proposed course module on South Asia, its intended audience, source materials, and end-products.
4.
A rough timeline and budget ($2,000 or less).