The Institute of International Education in the US has announced a $3.1 million one-time China-US Scholars Program to support 48 Chinese and American faculty and students during the 2021-22 academic year.
The funding – made by five private foundations – will allow participants in the arts, humanities and social sciences fields to conduct research, study or teach abroad in the US or China “at a time when many government-funded academic exchange programs between [the countries] have been suspended”.
“Our world, and the peoples of China and the US, need this opportunity for cooperation more than ever”
The five foundations include Ford Foundation, Harvard-Yenching Institute, Henry Luce Foundation, and Rockefeller Brothers Fund. Carnegie Corporation of New York’s grant is pending Board of Trustees’ approval at its early March meeting.
They hope that the program will inspire government-supported programs in the future.
“Our organisations have championed exchanges and dialogue between the peoples of China and the US for decades,” the five organisations said in a statement.
“People-to-people exchanges between these countries have resulted in scientific and medical collaboration; greater awareness of Chinese and American arts, cultures, histories and societies; and diplomatic breakthroughs when formal dialogues were constrained.
“The two countries’ rich scholarly traditions and world-class universities make such achievements possible,” they noted.
“Academic exchange programs are a cornerstone of public diplomacy and are especially effective during challenging geopolitical periods.”
The commitment signals “the critical importance we place on people-to-people engagement and will ensure that some level of exchange between our two countries continues through the next academic year”, they added.
“It is our hope that the fellowship – and more importantly the academic collaboration, teaching, research and exchange it facilitates – will inspire the resumption of such government-supported programs for the future.
“Our world, and the peoples of China and the US, need this opportunity for cooperation more than ever.”
Applications for the program will be accepted from March 1 to April 15, 2021, and the fellowship program will last 5-10 months.
For more information about the program please visit here.
