Sponsored by the Energy Access Project at Duke University

Extended Deadline: Summer 2019 Energy Access Projects

The EAP invites proposals for student projects in Summer 2019 related to energy access in less-developed countries, with a focus on either modern technologies and fuels for cooking, or access to reliable, affordable, safe, and sustainable electricity.

EAP is particularly interested in supporting projects and work with organizations that (i) promote innovative approaches to accelerate sustainable energy transitions in low- and middle-income countries; (ii) offer insights that are applicable or generalizable to wider audiences; (iii) build linkages with innovative companies and non-profits in the energy access space; and/or (iv) are related to ongoing EAP projects.

Undergraduate and graduate students at Duke who are currently enrolled, and will be enrolled full-time at Duke in Fall 2019, are eligible to apply for up to $4,000. While funding is available for a variety of experiences including internships or research projects, we will prioritize proposals that identify a sponsoring organization that the student has established contact with and secured logistical and institutional support from. We will also prioritize proposals for projects in the field (i.e., in low- or middle-income countries, working with communities that directly experience energy access challenges). However, we will consider proposals for internships or projects based at Duke, or in other parts of the developed world. While EAP recognizes that energy poverty exists worldwide, including in developed countries, at present our focus is on less-developed countries. If you are uncertain if your position or setting would qualify, we encourage you to contact us before applying.

We will prioritize funding for travel and living expenses, and we will also consider (with lower priority) requests for payments to sponsoring organizations, funding to purchase equipment or data, or translation services. This call for proposals is not intended to provide funding for tuition for language schools, nor student stipends or salaries.

We will also prioritize funding for applicants who have investigated and pursued other funding alternatives. We anticipate considerably more demand for student funding than we can accommodate, and we aim to use our limited funds to help students assemble projects that also leverage other funding sources to further their goals.

Proposals must be submitted electronically (MS Word preferred) to victoria.plutshack@duke.edu by the extended deadline 11:59 pm (EST) Sunday, March 17, 2019. Proposals submitted after this time will not be considered. Recipients will be notified by mid-March. Upon completion of the summer work, recipients will be required to write a brief article or blog post summarizing their project and present an overview of the work at an EAP-sponsored event in Fall 2019 (the latter requirement can be deferred to accommodate study abroad).

Proposal Format

Proposals should be two to three pages long and must include the following:

1. Your contact information: Name, degree program and expected graduation year, department, faculty advisor, and email address.
2. Description of the project. This section should be reasonably well detailed, and should include specific responsibilities to the extent you know them. If the experience includes field work, please also indicate how long you intend to stay in the country, and where specifically you will be (in one city, traveling to communities, etc.).
3. Description of the sponsoring organization (if applicable), including location, and the nature of your conversations with the organization to date. Please note whether the organization has agreed to provide logistical and institutional support, and describe the nature of this support (e.g., an office space, teammates, logistical or language support for travel, etc.).
4. How your proposed project contributes to the priorities of the EAP. If you believe your project relates to another ongoing project at EAP, please identify which project and describe how yours is related.
5. How your proposal fits within your academic program, and within your broader learning goals and/or professional goals.
6. What other funding sources you have applied or intend to apply for, including amounts you have already secured. (For undergraduates, please indicate if you have also applied to Duke Engage; if not, please explain why not.)
7. A budget for the proposed internship or experience. (Budget information can be provided on a separate page.)

Contact

Questions or clarifications may be addressed to Victoria Plutshack, Policy Associate at the Energy Access Project: victoria.plutshack@duke.edu.

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