Yale World Fellows is an international fellowship program at Yale University for rising global leaders. World Fellows come from around the world and from diverse disciplines. They are selected through a competitive application process. Each year, the program selects 16 World Fellows to reside at Yale for the fall semester to study, share their knowledge, and expand their networks. The World Fellows program is located in Horchow Hall, within the Jackson Institute for Global Affairs, on Hillhouse Avenue.
History
In November 2000, University President Rick Levin announced several internationalization initiatives, including the World Fellows program, in conjunction with the university's tercentenary. Journalist and White House aide Brooke Shearer was appointed its founding director, and Dan Esty its first program director. The program moved into Betts House, restored in 2001 to house new international initiatives. The first class of fellows was admitted in 2002. Since 2015, Emma Sky has been Director of the Yale World Fellows. Sky oversaw the transition of the program to the Jackson Institute for Global Affairs, and in 2016 secured a $16 million contribution from the Starr Foundation and Maurice R. Greenberg. As of 2020, the program has a network of over 300 World Fellows from 90 countries.
Program
World Fellows "receive individual and group coaching and skills development training." They can audit courses at the university. They give talks and participate on panels across the campus. A key component of the program is the weekly "Good society" seminar where World Fellows present what they do professionally and how they contribute to building a better society. World Fellows also host a weekly salon to which they invite Yale faculty and other guests for off-the-record conversations.
Selection
Admission to the program is highly competitive. The program runs from mid-August to mid-December. Fellows are required to be in residence at Yale during the duration of the program. Candidates for the program must be:
a citizen of a country other than the United States;
fluent in English;
in their early mid-career, roughly 5–20 years into their professional careers, with demonstrated professional accomplishments
Notable fellows
Notable Word Fellows include:
Alexei Navalny, a Moscow-based lawyer and political opposition leader, named one of Time Magazine's 2012 100 Most Influential People
Tim Jarvis, Australian environmental scientist
María Corina Machado, Venezuelan Congresswoman and opposition leader, named one of BBC's World's 100 Most Influential Women in 2018
Gidon Bromberg, Israeli environmental activist, named one of Time's "Environmental Heroes of the Year" in 2008
Aboubakr Jamaï, Moroccan journalist, co-founder of Le Journal Hebdomadaire
