About the Institute and the Initiative
The Breakthrough Institute is an environmental research centre located in Oakland, California. Founded in 2003 by Michael Shellenberger and Ted Nordhaus, Breakthrough Institute has policy programs in energy and climate, economic growth and innovation, conservation and development.
This Generation Fellowship is an initiative of the Breakthrough Institute that started in 2008, with an aim to generate and foster the new ideas and their development in the new generation of thinkers and writers who believe in the pragmatic solutions to the great and the greatest challenges we face today in the areas of energy, economy, and environment.
The Generation Fellowship
Every summer from June to August, Generation offers a small number of paid ($600 per week), highly competitive, ten-week fellowships to recent college graduates and postgraduates from around the world. Additional travel and housing assistance stipends are available upon acceptance based on an as-needed basis.
Structural Design of the Fellowship
- The first two weeks of the summer: Breakthrough Bootcamp, an intellectual crash course involving intensive reading, writing, and an expert lecture series aimed at providing a grounding in the broad-spectrum thinking that informs Breakthrough’s policy agenda.
- Topics covered include modernization theory, social psychology, aspirational politics and philosophy, economics and innovation policy, and technology policy.
- For the remainder of the fellowship: The fellows work in small teams divided between three program areas:
- Climate & Energy, Food & Farming, or Cities
- Supervised by policy staff, fellows produce policy white papers*, reports, and memos. Previous projects have been featured in The New York Times, Newsweek, Time Magazine, the Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, the Harvard Law and Policy Journal, among others, as well as in Congressional testimony.
- In addition to research and analysis, fellows attend the Breakthrough Dialogue: An opportunity to interact with the leading thinkers, writers, and scholars in the study of society and the environment, as well as attend talks, debates, and working groups within Breakthrough’s different program areas.
* Policy White Papers: Policy papers written in the form of White Papers that offer authoritative perspectives on or solutions to a problem. In commercial use, white papers are often used as a marketing or sales tool where the product is pitched as the “solution” to a perceived need within a particular market.
Who can Apply?
Final-year undergraduates, college graduates, and postgraduates are eligible to apply for the fellowship.
Fellowships are open to applicants from any country.
How to Apply?
You can apply through the online application form.
You will need to provide your basic information, a cover letter, resume or CV, references, and three writing samples (Don’t sweat, you’ll know what they are!).
All uploaded documents must be in PDF format. Incomplete applications will not be considered.
Application Deadline
The application deadline is January 28, 2022, 11:59 PM, Pacific Time (1:29 pm January 29, 2022, Indian Standard Time)
Selection Time
Within 2-4 weeks after the application deadline. There are 2 rounds of phone interviews before final decisions are made.
Time and Location
Breakthrough hosts the Generation Fellowship in our Berkeley, California office.
All fellows and staff must be fully vaccinated.
Application Details
Cover Letter
- Please indicate at the top of your cover letter which of the three research areas you wish to be considered for: Energy, Cities, or Food & Farming.
- An excellent cover letter will display a thorough understanding of Breakthrough’s work and ideas and will discuss at least one of their publications:
- An Ecomodernist Manifesto, or
- Michael Shellenberger and Ted Nordhaus’s book, Break Through.
Please limit your cover letter to a maximum of one-page.
CV/Resume
Please limit your resume or CV to two pages maximum.
Three Writing Samples
- A 500-1000 word argumentative essay or op-ed (does not have to be published) on a subject of your choice that demonstrates an ability to make a focused argument in a clear, convincing, and accessible way.This writing sample is evaluated for evidence of critical thinking and general writing skills. For examples of opinion pieces written by Breakthrough staff, see here, here, and here.
- A research paper, preferably between 15-20 pages. This does not need to have been published but should demonstrate an ability to research and analyze a subject in more depth.It is recommended, but not required, that the topic of the research paper be relevant to the program area you are applying to.
- An additional writing sample of your choosing: This can be an opinion piece, a research paper, a policy memo, or any other piece of writing that complements the first two samples.
References
Please submit a minimum of three professional references with contact information.
Letters of Recommendation
Letters of recommendation are welcome but not required. Recommendations will only be accepted if the author of the letter, not the applicant, sends the letter directly to Breakthrough.
Letters should be attached to your application or sent separately to fellowships[at]thebreakthrough.org with the subject “[Last Name] Generation Application References”
Please email fellowships@thebreakthrough.org
official information by the Institute is here.
Click here to apply for the Generation Fellowship.
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