When Fellows join the Regional Fellows Program, they embark on a leadership journey. Over the course of the year, Fellows engage in deep reflection, challenge their assumptions about the world, and strengthen their moral compass. Through these programs, we hope to create an interconnected web of global leaders who share values, collaborate with each other, and drive change.
Applications for the 2016 Regional Fellows Programs in East Africa, India and Pakistan are now closed.
During the course of a year-long program, Acumen Regional Fellows remain in their jobs and come together every 6-8 weeks for a series of 5 seminars focused on developing the skills needed to be the next generation of social change leaders. Acumen Fellows focus on gaining the financial expertise, operational expertise, and moral imagination necessary to solve the world’s toughest problems. In addition to developing the core areas of Acumen’s leadership model, Fellows meet with prominent leaders from across sectors and build relationships within their cohort and Acumen Fellows Alumni around the world.
Seminar 1: Foundations of LeadershipThe first seminar explores the meaning of a just society and the moral and historical foundation of social change through a series of curated readings of great thinkers such as Plato, Gandhi, Amartya Sen, Nelson Mandela and Binyavanga Wainaina.
The second seminar delves into the nature of leadership and what is needed to mobilize people and resources in a rapidly changing world.
The third seminar focuses on building financial and operational skills through experiential learning. Fellows learn the importance of human-centered design, experiment with building lean business models and acquire the tools to measure social impact.
The fourth seminar gives Fellows a deeper understanding of what is required to create systems change in their region through curated interactions with thought leaders and innovators in local communities.
As the program comes to a close, Fellows reflect on their leadership journey, set goals to improve their work and make plans to stay connected before participating in a graduation ceremony.
The fellowship is more than just a one-year program – it is the start of a lifelong leadership journey and the beginning of a lasting relationship with Acumen Fellows Alumni around the world.
After graduating from any of our Fellows Programs – either East Africa, Pakistan, India, or Global – all of our Fellows join a single, united Fellows Alumni group. Acumen understands that leadership can be a lonely journey, and the Alumni body acts as a support system where Fellows can not only push each other but also collaborate to achieve their goals. Alumni are also actively involved in selecting future cohorts, get exclusive invitations to Acumen events, and receive a quarterly Alumni Newsletter. In addition, there are a number of examples of Alumni working together on new businesses and social impact initiatives.
Alumni not only maintain their connection to their fellow Fellows, but also to Acumen’s extensive global community of advisors and peer organizations. Alumni have been able to leverage our network to gain connections to investors, job opportunities and mentors.
Click here to check out the latest Alumni Newsletter.
The selection process for this program is very rigorous and highly competitive. Here is a general timeline of the process:
The online application consists of:
Application Instructions: For more guidance on how to answer the application questions, please click here.
Frequently Asked Questions: For a list of Frequently Asked Questions and their answers, please click here.
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