The Mid Career Fellowship aims to empower current Internet leaders with knowledge and skills to enable them to navigate digital transformation and disruption in these times of volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity (VUCA). It does so by providing an invaluable opportunity for Fellows to enhance their knowledge about the Internet, its governance and technology, and to build knowledge, skills and practical know-how to address the range of challenges that they and their organizations face in difficult times.
The program brings together strategic foresight, systems thinking, design thinking and leadership to provide the Fellows with the knowledge, skills and capabilities to overcome present and future Internet challenges.
While Fellows are learning from dedicated modules, they will also work in small groups on a range of Internet-related challenges. These case studies are transversal – taking place across the entirety of the Fellowship – and will address current issues. Fellows will select the case studies, analyze the issues, map the ways forward to address the associated challenges through applying the tools they will be learning in the Modules: strategic foresight, systems and design thinking, and leadership. This case-study approach encourages Fellows to put into practice the skills and tools they are acquiring, to share and build on their own experiences and to work in multi-stakeholder and multi-disciplinary ways. The case study findings or solutions will be presented by the small groups at the Symposium.
Central to the success of this important transversal component of the Fellowship is the support and guidance provided by the Mentors. We will be matching Fellows with dedicated Mentors who can help them identify and develop their case studies.
We are looking for
Mentors who have extensive experience in Internet-related areas, across technology, business, society, and policy. The Mentors should be seen by the Fellows as peers: they should have the same or greater levels of working experience (at least 10 years), expertise and engagement in the Internet ecosystem as the Fellows, while complementing them. Subject matter expertise and leadership experience are essential. Strong regional or international networks are important as is the ability to work across stakeholder groups and disciplines.
If you sign up to be a Mentor, you will join the
Mentorship Pool:
- Fellows will be matched with Mentors we believe most suitable for their needs (in terms of practical and/or regional experience) and the needs of the case study working groups that the Fellows will be a part of.
- The Mentors should meet (virtually) with their Fellows approximately once every two weeks over a six-month period.
- The relationship between the Mentors and Fellows is self-managed. This would include finding the times that work best for both Fellows and Mentors, and the frequency of meetings – although it is suggested the Mentors and Fellows meet once a fortnight, should there be a need to meet more often that is up to the discretion of the Mentors and Fellows.
Please let us know by
completing this short form if you want to join the
Mentorship Pool (once you join, you could be matched with Mid Career Fellows from this year or the ones to come – we run a cohort of 15 Fellows a year).
As the Internet Society continues to work on building, promoting, and defending an Internet that is for everyone, everywhere, we are grateful and encouraged to know that we have a community of selfless champions and supporters like you. And we hope you'll soon join this empowerment program as a Mentor.
