Position type
‍Fellowship

Cohort size
5

Period
‍9 weeks

Amount
‍$3,000

Start of fellowship
September 2023

End of fellowship
December 2023

Location
‍Building 21, 651 Sherbrooke St. West

Function
‍Develop one’s personal, original, creative, and rigorous academic project in order to acquire the knowledge and skills to think beyond the acknowledged, the recognized, and the comfortable.

Pursue projects and ideas promoting a future of open science.

As an aspect of the fellowship, students will also be asked to help organize or host B21 events and take on some administrative tasks.

This is not for credit.

Have $3,000 in funding to pursue your idea.

Schedule regular project check-ins (at least twice per month) with Anita Parmar or Ollivier Dyens.

Be present at B21 at least 15 hours a week. This includes:

• Developing and presenting your project
• Coming to at least one lightning talk (idea session) per week
• Attending regularly scheduled talks and discussions
• Talking to other scholars about your projects
• Sharing ideas and feedback to a group of interdisciplinary scholars

Who
Open to all McGill students of all levels who are in good academic standing and to students who have graduated from McGill in the past 12 months.

As this fellowship is time-intensive, undergraduate students are asked to apply ONLY if taking classes part time or demonstrate great conviction in their idea.

Presence
‍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 9 week Fellowship. In-person presence at B21 leads to essential interdisciplinary connections and conversations.

Showcase
Fellows will be asked to present their work to the community at the end of the Fellowship in a project showcase.

To note
‍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.

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.

Students who have already been employed by Building 21 or received a fellowship from Building 21 are not eligible.

Applicants 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, learning, and discovery.

Important: articulate the unknown that you're trying to uncover as clearly as you can!

‍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 and clarity as opposed to detail. We strongly recommend keeping videos and similar applications to be viewed within 3-5 minutes.

If you are shortlisted, we may call you for an interview where you are expected to explain your rationale for applying, and your overall goals.

Anita Parmar
‍Co-director, Building 21

Book a meeting

Email

Ollivier Dyens
‍‍Co-director, Building 21

Email