Are you a scholar interested in drawing attention to important issues in higher education? Could you share your specialist insights with a global audience through blog posts, podcasts and more? Our new fellowship could be for you.

We are pleased to announce the launch of the first LSE Higher Education Blog Fellowship programme. Beginning in January 2024, this is an exciting opportunity for scholars who are interested in drawing attention to important issues in higher education from diverse perspectives.

Through creating, curating, or commissioning content on a range of topics, LSE HE Blog Fellows will contribute to regular features and special issues on the LSE HE Blog.

The LSE Higher Education Blog is an outward-facing forum for academics, educators and students to share and discuss their experiences and insights into teaching and learning, and to present a bold, multi-perspective view of higher education in the UK and globally. It is part of the LSE’s blog network, one of the world’s primary digital knowledge exchange platforms for academics, students and researchers. More than 500,000 people read blog posts and commentary from across the LSE Blogs every month.

The fellowship programme is open to scholars from across the world, including academics, students, university staff, and independent scholars. The aim of the LSE HE Blog Fellowship programme is to inject a fresh perspective on topics that do not receive sufficient coverage on the HE Blog, in the process providing a platform for specialist insight, scholarship, and debate on important issues in HE. Scholars can choose the theme of their contributions based on their expertise and interests.

The fellowship programme will run over a period of six to nine months, starting in January 2024. There are five fellowships available for 2024, with an award of £800 each. The fellowship can be undertaken remotely or on the LSE campus. Applications to the fellowship programme close on 4 December 2023.

Activities and outputs 

Fellows will be expected to produce and curate content on or related to their chosen theme:

Creation 

• Write a 1,200-word blogpost
• Plan, host, produce a 30-45-minute podcast with at least two guests

Curation 

• Lead on, organise, (and write) a multi-author compilation blogpost on a topic
• Propose and lead on a fourth contribution (for example, an annotated must-read/essential reading list, interview, contest, video). This will be discussed and agreed with the HE Blog editorial team.

At the end of the fellowship term, all the Fellows will be invited to participate in a showcase event.

While participants can choose themes based on their interest and expertise, we particularly welcome applications that focus on themes related to international higher education (especially in Africa, South America, Asia), quantitative disciplines and teaching, sustainability, and heterodox approaches.

Timeline

Applications open on 8 November and close on 4 December 2023. The fellowship programme will start in January 2024 and run for six to nine months. The publication schedule will be discussed and agreed with Fellows, but the expectation is that outputs will be published throughout the term of the fellowship. There will be a degree of flexibility built into the fellowship term, which could vary from six to nine months to accommodate the Fellows’ pre-existing commitments.

Support and training

Prior editorial or publishing experience is not necessary as the LSE HE Blog team will work closely with the Fellows to provide support as needed, such as:

• Training in applying editorial standards and processes (for example, commissioning, briefing, feedback, editing, etc)
• Editorial oversight of all projects and assignments
• Regular communication and meetings
• Mentorship with respect to academic publishing, public engagement, etc

Why become an LSE Higher Education Blog Fellow

If you are interested in higher education and wish to reach a global, well-informed audience, this is an opportunity for you to:

• Gain valuable experience in scholarly writing and creating content for contemporary media
• Develop a scholarly profile beyond your specialism and discipline
• Gain experience in public engagement and dissemination
• Widen your professional network

Eligibility

We welcome applications for the LSE HE Blog Fellowship programme from academics across all disciplines and fields including pure, interdisciplinary, and applied fields; those who teach on courses that use quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods; and at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels. University staff and independent scholars are also welcome to apply as are those working in academic-related areas outside academia, such as clinicians, policymakers, etc. Joint applications (such as co-conducted/co-authored interviews) are welcome, but the award amount and resources would stay the same.

It is essential that you are capable of taking a scholarly approach to your fellowship work. Ideally, you will also have experience/ability writing for non-specialist audiences and a good understanding and knowledge of pedagogy and curriculum design, along with teaching experience, but these are not essential.

Application requirements

To be considered for the LSE HE Blog Fellowship programme, please submit the following by 4 December 2023 to lseheblog@lse.ac.uk

• your CV, including any writing, editorial, public engagement experience that is relevant to this fellowship
• two recent samples of your work that best indicate your suitability for this fellowship (such as journal article, blogpost, podcast, video, etc)
• an initial proposal of no more than 1,000 words, which includes:

– the theme you will focus on for the fellowship and why you’ve chosen it
– an editorial plan that lists, for illustrative purposes, the topic/working title for each of the first three outputs (listed above), a very brief description of each output, and prospective guests or contributors where relevant, and a rough timeline for submission
– two challenges you might encounter during the fellowship

We will aim to consider requests for an extension to the application submission date, but cannot guarantee it. If you have any questions or would like to have an informal discussion about the fellowship or the application process, please email Lee-Ann Sequeira, the editor of the LSE Higher Education Blog.

Main image: Fringer Cat on Unsplash