Network for Advanced Study of China (NASC) Fellowship

Applications for the 2024-25 cohort are now Open!

Meet our 2023-24 NASC Fellows

Cherry Hitkari

Non-resident Vasey Fellow & Young Leader, Pacific Forum International, Hawaii
Neha Mishra

Associate Fellow, Centre for Air Power Studies and PhD Student, Department of Political Science, University of Delhi
Upamanyu Basu

Assistant Professor of Political Science, School of Behavioral and Social Sciences, MRIIRS
Harshit Prajapati

PhD student, Centre for Indo-Pacific Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.
Kaustav Padmapati

Assistant Professor (Senior Scale), School of Modern Media, UPES, Dehradun
Saurav Sarmah

Assistant Professor, Chanakya University, Bengaluru
Swayamsiddha Samal

PhD student, Centre for East Asian Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University
Falendra Kumar Sudan

Professor, Department of Economics, University of Jammu, Jammu
Manu Sharma

Research Associate, Council for Strategic and Defense Research, New Delhi
Sukanya Bali

Ph.D. Scholar, Jindal School of International Affairs, OP Jindal Global University, Sonipat, Haryana
Raja Babu

Ph.D. student (Chinese studies), Department of East Asian Studies, University of Delhi
Abhishek Sharma

PhD Candidate, Department of East Asian Studies, University of Delhi; Non-resident Kelly Fellow, Pacific Forum
Gaurangi Kapoor

Academic Associate, Indian Institute of Management
Ritika Passi

Independent researcher on geo-economics, Indo-Pacific, and global/regional economic governance
KK Venkatraman

PhD Candidate, Jindal School of International Affairs, OP Jindal Global University, Sonepat
Dhara P. Shah

Political Specialist, foreign diplomatic mission in India
Vishal Sagar

Assistant Professor, School of Behavioral and Social Sciences, Manav Rachna International Institute of Research and Studies
Alok Kumar Chaurasia

M.A. Politics with specialisation in International Studies, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University
Shruti Jargad

Independent researcher on China's domestic politics, governance issues and CCP intra party politics

Programme Overview

The Network for Advanced Study of China (NASC) aims to create high quality scholarship and knowledge of the People’s Republic of China by nurturing new generations of analysts in academia, think tanks, media and industry. The aims of the programme are to train and nurture a cross-disciplinary community of outstanding scholars over a period of three years and create a body-of-knowledge that will inform policy, strategy, economics, technology and society.

The NASC Fellowship

The NASC Fellowship offers opportunities for analysts and scholars to work under the co-guidance of foremost experts and work towards a publication in the leading journals and publications in the field. It includes a two-day conference/workshop in Bengaluru, and financial support for participation in international conferences. In addition, a cash prize of ₹1 lakh will be awarded to select papers determined by the jury. The duration of the fellowship is one year.

Who Should Apply

NASC invites applications from researchers from any background, including from universities, research institutes, media, government services and industry, who are enthusiastic about undertaking fresh research on China.

NASC fellows will undertake research in one or more of the following areas: inner-party politics & governance, economy, defence, geopolitics, environment, education, technology, society, and urbanisation.

Prospective fellows must either be working or studying in India, and must have at least an undergraduate degree and be proficient in English.

NASC Fellowship Process

Prospective fellows must submit a brief research proposal demonstrating their interest and capability to complete the project. The proposal (1000 words maximum) should clearly state the current gaps in research and how the author(s) would approach the issue. Along with the research proposal submission, the author(s) must also send a past writing sample, either published or unpublished, on any topic that is more than 1000 words.

Up to three authors can submit a joint proposal. Multidisciplinary approaches and collaborations are encouraged.

Selected applicants will be invited to join the fellowship, assigned mentors and projects. The best research output will be rewarded with cash prizes and commendations.

Timeline

The application window for the second NASC Fellowship Cohort is now open!

April 17th, 2024 – Call for Indications of Interest (https://forms.gle/8A35V5wRkbBV9dck8)
May 31st, 2024 – Research proposal submission deadline
June 20th, 2024 – Evaluation & selection of fellows
July 1st, 2024 – Start of NASC fellowship
August 15th, 2024 – Submission of first draft of papers
End of August (tentative) – Two-day residential workshop in Bangalore. This will feature sessions on understanding China, conducting open-source research, research methodologies, brief presentations by the fellows on their papers to their mentors, and the first round of feedback
October 31st 2024 – Submission of second draft paper
November 30th, 2024 – Formal feedback on the second draft by the mentor
February 15th, 2025 – Submission of the third and final draft of the papers
End March-early April 2025 (tentative) – Two-day Academic Conference with presentations by fellows on their research (announcement of the top research paper awardees will be at this Conference)