Host a Specialist at Your Institution
The Fulbright Specialist Program welcomes participation from a wide array of institutions, including universities, non-governmental organizations, cultural centers, and medical facilities. Host institutions/organizations can design collaborative projects in over 20 eligible disciplines, including education, business, law, environmental science, journalism, and public health.
The Program encourages host institutions to tailor projects to their own needs, however, all projects should have an education or training focus. Due to the short-term nature of the exchange, projects should have concrete objectives that can be achieved over the course of the Specialist’s visit.
Past Specialists have supported host institutions by conducting activities such as:
- Conducting needs assessments, surveys, institutional or programmatic research.
- Taking part in specialized academic programs and conferences in conjunction with other scheduled activities.
- Consulting with administrators and instructors of post-secondary institutions on faculty development.
- Presenting lectures at graduate and undergraduate levels.
- Participating in or leading seminars or workshops at academic institutions.
- Developing and/or assessing academic curricula or educational materials Conducting teacher-training programs at the tertiary level.
Note: Personal research projects, including clinical medical research or projects involving patient contact, are not eligible for funding under the Fulbright Specialist Program.
Zambian higher education institutions, non-governmental organizations, cultural centers, and medical facilities can apply for a Fulbright Specialist for a period of 2 – 6 weeks. Together they can collaborate on projects such as curriculum and faculty development, institutional planning, and a variety of other activities.
Program Parameters
- All exchanges must range from 14 to 42 days in length, including weekends, holidays, and travel days.
- All project activities must take place in Zambia. Each project is limited to only one Fulbright Specialist grantee.
- A Specialist candidate will not be approved for a second Fulbright Specialist grant unless two years have passed from the date of completion of the previous Fulbright Specialist grant.
Program Benefits and Costs for the Host Institutions and Specialists
Benefits for host institutions include:
- Gaining global perspectives from experienced academics and professionals.
- Executing projects that require a rapid response or flexible timeline through short-term, year-round exchanges.
- Building sustained relationships with individuals and host institutions in the U.S.
Host institutions are responsible for covering the costs and arranging:
- Accommodation for the Fulbright Specialist.
- In-country Transportation (the arrangements/allowance should include transit to and from the Specialist’s lodging and project site, as well as other local daily travel (e.g., restaurants, markets, grocery stores, pharmacy, etc.).
- Meals for the Fulbright Specialist (three meals per day, e.g., cafeteria, restaurants, etc.). If the Specialist will be paid directly for the meals, the amount to be paid needs to be indicated in the application. At the minimum, the hosts should budget the standard Zambian per diem amount for each day during the Fulbright Specialist program (including weekends)
- Airport pick-up and drop-off for the Fulbright Specialist.
Benefits for the Fulbright Specialist:
The U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA), along with host institutions abroad, provide U.S.-based Specialists with full funding to participate in Fulbright Specialist projects. Benefits include:
- Round-trip, economy class airfare between the U.S. and host country
- Transit allowance
- Daily honorarium of 200 USD
- Enrollment in a limited health benefits program
- Lodging (covered by host)
- Meals/meal allowance (covered by host)
- In-country transportation either through monetary or in-kind contributions, throughout the full stay in Zambia (covered by host)
- Airport pick-up and drop-off for the Fulbright Specialist (arranged by host)
Identifying Fulbright Specialists
Host institutions are not required to identify U.S. academics or professionals to serve as their project’s Fulbright Specialist prior to submitting their project proposal. On the contrary, if a host institution’s project is approved, the program’s implementing partner, World Learning, will identify candidates on the Fulbright Specialist Roster whose professional experience, academic credentials, and foreign language skills match the knowledge and skills articulated by the host institution in its project proposal as being critical to the project’s successful implementation.
If a host institution has identified a candidate that it would like to serve as their Fulbright Specialist, please note that the following conditions must be met:
- The individual must be approved to join the Fulbright Specialist Roster; and
- The Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board must approve that individual to be matched with the host institution’s specific project.
For more information on the Specialist matching process and the Fulbright Specialist Roster, please visit http://fulbrightspecialist.worldlearning.org.
Submitting a Proposal
Institutions interested in submitting a proposal can get in touch with the American Embassy on via email on lusakaexchanges@state.gov to discuss the procedure.
Application deadline: Project requests can be submitted on a rolling basis no later than August 26, 2022.
Host institutions and Specialists should carefully monitor reliable resources related to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on travel, entry into Zambia, quarantine, tests and on the project implementation when planning the timeline of the project.
The Fulbright Specialist Program is a program of the U.S. Department of State with funding provided by the U.S. Government and administered by World Learning