Students pursuing global studies with ideas for innovative solutions to global policy issues can now apply for a grant to pursue their idea through the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies and Innovate@BU BUild Lab.
Applications for the Global Innovation Impact Seed Grant opened Friday. The program aims to motivate both undergraduate and graduate students of Pardee to explore innovative solutions to current social and political issues and to open up the conversation about these issues among the BU community.
Kaija Schilde, an associate professor in Pardee and head coordinator of this program, said she hopes to see Pardee students motivated to tackle real world problems from an academic standpoint.
“What we’re trying to do here is to start a culture of innovation [outside of classes], where students either on their own or together are able to think about turning their knowledge from Pardee into real world applications,” Schilde said.
Schilde said that the project topics are open-ended and can cover almost anything.
“Whether it’s international development projects or even just a local project about say refugees … [it’s] just about awareness,” Schilde said.
Schilde said a common misconception is that these ideas need to be fully developed from scratch by students alone. In reality, the project can just be any broad or general inkling of an idea that the program’s resources can help guide into the appropriate direction over time.
“Those projects are [already] well developed, not because students might have thought of them, but because students did the legwork talking to people on the ground,” Schilde said. “They did a ton of user engagement to figure out exactly what the solution was … that’s how good solutions get made, not just sitting around thinking about them but actually engaging with [those] affected.”
The grant offers an initial seed amount of $500 to get the ball rolling on whatever project students may want to propose or pursue. The students will also have access to resources and possibilities offered by Pardee and Innovate@BU to help push the full project forward.
Schilde and the Innovate@BU BUild Lab are eager to see what the students of Pardee can offer and highlight that the program opens professional doors for many.
The Global Innovation Impact Seed Grant is currently open to all Pardee students and is accepting project proposals until Nov. 1.
“We are super excited to support student ideas,” Schilde said. “It’s better than an internship, to actually work on a real world project and kind of professionalize yourself that way.”
Muskaan Khemani, a sophomore pursuing a dual degree in the Pardee and the College of Arts and Sciences, wasn’t aware of the program till now and is excited to look into it more.
“It sounds like a great idea, honestly, but I think it should be advertised more especially for underclassmen,” Khemani said. “I may actually look into this though.”
Nithya Ramachandran, a junior in the dual degree program with Pardee and CAS, said she knew of the program through her friends who have been grant recipients in the past, but held back from applying herself as she believes the program is geared more towards graduate students.
“I do think it’s a good opportunity for both graduate and undergraduate students, Ramachandran said, “but I think it is anticipated that graduate students will get the funding since they might be more involved in research.”
Ethan Wong, a sophomore in the CAS, said he was previously a student at Pardee and that he believes more guidance is required in order for the program to reach more students.
“Most undergrads require examples of maybe past projects and more guidance on what potential projects we can pursue,” Wong said. “That being said, if I was still in Pardee I probably would reconsider applying now.”
