Echidna Global Scholar

The Echidna Global Scholars Program’s Visiting Fellowship is hosted by the Center for Universal Education (CUE) at the Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C., USA. The Echidna Global Scholars Program aims to accelerate systemic change for gender equality in and through education by strengthening leadership and ecosystems to drive lasting impact at local, regional and global levels. As the first stage of the program, the Visiting Fellowship brings selected Scholars to Brookings, where they conduct individual research, develop their leadership and evidence-based policy skills, build substantive knowledge on gender and global education issues, and expand their pathways for impact.

The Fellowship consists of four phases:

• Kickoff and research design retreat (April 2027):
  Sets the basis for the research training, leadership, and strategic impact components of the program. Time commitment is one week, during which the scholars will meet with theCUE Gender Equality in and through Education (GEE) team in person to refine their research proposal, identifying a policy problem, designing a research study, and planning their data collection.
• Pre-residency (June-July 2027):
  With the support of the CUE GEE team, scholars begin an intensive period of in-country data collection and analysis, accompanied by a series of virtual workshops, group working meetings, and individual advisory sessions. Scholars are introduced to the concepts and tools that will be the focus of the leadership development program throughout the Fellowship and begin developing an impact strategy, identifying and engaging with local actors.
  
  Time commitment is roughly 15-20 hours a week during this phase.
• Residency (August-December 2027):
  The residency period in Washington, D.C. focuses primarily on clarifying Scholars’ focus and expanding their reach and impact. The residency phase is designed to support Scholars as they strengthen skills and practices for analyzing, communicating, and leveraging research for policy contexts and key audiences and engage in a reflective and individualized leadership development program. The residency also seeks to expand Scholars’ networks and promote visibility through Brookings convenings and strategic collaborations.
  
  Over the course of the residency, Scholars will engage in analysis of data collected during the pre-residency phase and will work closely with the CUE GEE team to translate their research into an action-oriented policy brief and strategic commentaries, which will be published and disseminated on Brookings’s multimedia platforms.
• Post-residency ):
  During the post-residency, scholars will participate in the Gender Equality in and through Education Research and Policy Symposium. Over the two-year period following residency, the CUE team provides intentional support to alumni as they translate their research into action through the implementation of impact projects in their home countries. Through impact planning, strategic advisement and leadership development work, CUE supports scholars as they leverage the knowledge, skills, and connections built throughout the Fellowship to catalyze change in their contexts.

In addition, upon completion of the residency, scholars transition into the Echidna Global Scholars Alumni Network (EGSAN), a growing network of educators, researchers, community leaders and policy influencers grounded in diverse lived experiences and united by a shared commitment to gender equality in and through education. The network is a dynamic space that drives collaborative research, shared learning, regional and global convenings, and collective action to advance systemic transformation globally, regionally and locally.

Since its inception in 2012, the Echidna…