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The BLUE Program
Do you have an idea for a project or process that doesn't fit within conventional research domains? A radical idea that crosses disciplinary boundaries? Or do you simply have a passionate need to explore in unconventional ways?
Whether you have an "out-there" idea—or ideas—already ruminating in your mind, or are simply the type that has a passionate need to explore strange notions and learn in unconventional ways, we want to hear from you.
Beautiful, Limitless, Unconstrained Exploration (BLUE) is an approach to research Building 21 has developed and refined over the last 8 years, with 12 cohorts, and 200+ scholars.
We believe there are vast amounts of knowledge that rests beyond what is conventionally recognized.
Hence, we developed the BLUE program to facilitate scholars of all levels, backgrounds, and disciplines to discover that knowledge.
Our Philosophy of Education
At Building 21, you will step into an undiscovered world, where we investigate the limits of knowledge and treasure the adjacent impossible.
Knowledge is not an individual thing. We learn through history, through the tools, structures, and social mechanisms of society, through the work of our ancestors and our contemporaries. That is why Building 21 is an anthill, a beehive. We believe in collective intelligence. For us, the whole is always greater than the sum of the parts because from the sum of the parts emerge new ways of thinking and new solutions to new problems. Your work will be as rich as the number of brains that work on it.
You will work for knowledge. You will work for the sake of discovery. Your project is not an end, it is the means to many ends: that of your intellectual development; that of your community’s intellectual enrichment; that of humanity’s quest to build a better world. That is why process is our main focus: process is the expression of a quest, of a need to find better answers, greater knowledge, to explore the space of possibilities.
B21 is a conductor: a conductor does not tell his violinist or her pianist how to play their instrument; the conductor does not tell them how to read music; a conductor guides and supports her musicians in their common quest to create beauty together. That is what B21 does: like a conductor, it creates the conditions needed for great music to rise through the collective insights and intelligence of its students.
At Building 21, we have many experts but no master. B21 is discipline agnostic. We work within the Venn diagram where everything reveals itself between the tangible and the intangible. Our goal is for projects to rise through the community and for the community to grow through the projects and for both to find new paths.
As a Building 21 fellow, you will be asked to actively engage in other fellows’ projects, to make them richer, more resilient, better. You will be asked to help other fellows push the limits of their creative and analytical endeavours, to help them find a path. And in return, you will receive the gift of a community of scholars.
Gifts and Responsibilities
Gifts: We provide you with support and offer you the path to many different perspectives and ideas. We will encourage you to be bold and creative. But we will not hold your hand. We will create the conditions for your success, but we will not map the path for you. We will also challenge your ideas. Because we care deeply about your project.
Responsibilities: Support others. Suggest ideas and thoughts. Enrich them with your perspective. Be present, mentally and physically, be generous, be compassionate. We are a community of scholars. Help us create the community.
FAQ
Examples of what can be done
Not sure what we mean by ideas and projects that are "different" and multi/cross-discipline? Projects can be entirely arts focused, science focused, or a mix. Here are a few example from past projects:
- How can words be transferred in a mathematical language in order to construct a model for detecting the sublime in a poem?
- How do we understand people from their subjective point of view?
- Visualizing chronic pain with art and virtual reality
- Quantitative Models of Opinion
- Investigating and visualising negative entropy in quantum information
- Building Radical Futures from Nostalgia and Fantasy
- Orally and visually narrating embodied, land-based [hi]stories from rural communities
- Se réapproprier notre capacité d'attention: le pouvoir de la lecture à l'ère numérique - The Living-Dead Project: Can we mitigate Global Warming by reinventing our cemeteries?
- A Thousand Tibetan Plateaus: On Self-Immolation, Trauma and the Insufficiency of Place
Learn more about these projects, and many others, here.
Eligibility and requirements
Open to all McGill students who are in good academic standing and to students who have graduated from McGill in the past 12 months. Students who have already been employed by Building 21 or received a fellowship from Building 21 are not eligible.
IMPORTANT NOTE : As this fellowship is time-intensive, undergraduate students are asked to apply ONLY if taking classes part time.
Students may apply individually or in pairs, though individual applications will be given priority due to the high volume of applicants. Graduate students will need to confirm that they have received permission from their supervisor.
Fellows will be required to work out of—and be physically present at—Building 21 for a minimum of 15 hours per week over the course of the semester-long Fellowship. In-person presence at B21 leads to essential interdisciplinary connections and conversations. Fellows are also encouraged to work with partner laboratories and facilities. Fellows will be asked to present their work to the community at the end of the Fellowship.
We guarantee that we will not use any idea for future projects without consent; however, please stipulate in your application if you would like your idea to remain confidential if you are not selected for the fellowship.
What it means to be a BLUE fellow
Be present at B21 at least 15 hours a week.
This includes:
- Developing and presenting your project
- Coming to at least one lightning talk (brainstorming session) per week
- Attending regularly scheduled talks and discussions (such as I’m Not Sure, Radical Future, etc.)
- Talking to other scholars about your projects
- Schedule regular project check-ins (at least twice per month) with Anita Parmar or Ollivier Dyens
- Be an active, generous, rigorous, and tolerant member of the community
- Follow our community guidelines, which can be found here.
How to submit a successful application
To apply, students will be asked to ‘wow’ the selection committee in the manner they prefer. This means choosing whatever platform they feel will best highlight both their ideas and personal strengths (video, text, music, filmed performance, unusual and original research work, etc.).
The application should highlight the originality, boldness, and creativity of the idea submitted. We are looking for students who are passionate, engaged, autonomous, and are obsessed with knowledge and learning.
Important: articulate the unknown that you're trying to uncover! In your application, think about the question or the unknown that you are trying to get at, and articulate it in your application.
Due to the expected large volume of applications, please aim for maximum impact as opposed to length. We strongly recommend keeping videos and similar applications to be viewed within 3-5 minutes.
Short-listed students may be called for an interview during which they will be expected to explain their rationale for applying, and their overall goals.
Don’t have enough time to be a BLUE fellow?
You can still be part of the B21 community! More information will be soon available.
Code of Conduct
You must abide by all of McGill’s rules and regulations.
In case of emergency, do not hesitate to reach out to any of the numbers below:
- McGill Security Services: 514-398-6378
- General Security Inquiries: 514-398-4556
- Emergencies: 514-398-3000
B21 is a shared space and community; please treat it as such. Our collective actions ensure that the space remains safe, secure, and clean.
DO:
- Introduce yourself to, and get to know, anyone you don’t know at B21.
- Treat everyone at B21 with respect and dignity.
- Check the space before you leave to ensure that you’ve left no trace.
- Wash your own dishes.
- Tidy up when necessary.
- Adopt a proactive attitude in caring for the space.
- Treat the computers & VR gear gently.
- If you move furniture for an event, please reset before you leave.
- Take off your shoes or boots when you come in.
DON’T:
- Let anyone unknown in, unless they are here for an event, in which case it is the responsibility of the event host to verify that they are allowed access.
- Let anyone exit through the emergency exits, unless there is an emergency.
- Drink alcohol in B21 when there is not an official permit. Failure to adhere to this rule will result in automatic suspension of access to Building 21.
- Use the space as a study space for your degree requirements.
- Use the space outside of normal hours (M-F; 9am-5pm) without consulting with B21 staff
N.B. We welcome everybody, and are committed to creating an equitable environment.