KMDI - Knowledge Media Design Institute

Knowledge media are building blocks of a knowledge society

• Applying

Applying

Graduate Fellowship Guidelines

Eligibility
Graduate Fellowship recognizes exceptional PhD students who have:

• a research project with clear relevance to some area or application of KMD
• demonstrated sufficient progress in the thesis component of their PhD degree program

Eligibility extends to all U of T students enrolled in PhD degree programs who have demonstrated sufficient progress in their thesis research in some area of knowledge media design. Normally, such students will have completed all course work, their research proposal will have been accepted, and, in fact, they will be within a year or so of completing their degree.

Application Process

Nomination
Any student meeting the above eligibility requirements is free to apply to the Fellowship Program.

Application Materials
All applicants must submit the following documents to the Collaborative Program:

• a one-page statement of their research program, explaining its relevance to KMD.
• a curriculum vitae
• a letter of recommendation by their supervisor, including an indication of the progress that has been made toward the dissertation

Application materials may be submitted by email. Send to: program@kmdi.utoronto.ca. Hard copies may be mailed to: KMDI Collaborative Program, BA7222, Bahen Centre for Information Technology, 40 St. George St. M5S 2E4 Toronto.

Evaluation
Admission will be awarded to PhD students who demonstrate superior research skills, a pronounced interest in the field of knowledge media design, and whose current research will be of general interest to other students in the Collaborative Program. They will, additionally, have made sufficient progress in their degree requirements to allow them to become actively involved with the Collaborative Program, particularly in the role of mentor to incoming and junior program students.

At present, no limit is assigned to the number of students who might be admitted as Fellows. The Program Committee will meet to review applications periodically throughout the year. Contact us for a schedule of upcoming Program Committee meetings. Candidates are encouraged to apply early to make the most of their involvement with the Program.

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Fellowship Benefits
Students admitted to the KMDI Fellowship Program will be

• formally recognized in program publications by the title "Graduate Fellow"
• issued business cards that specify the Knowledge Media Design Institute, the student's name, and the fellowship status
• subscribed to the KMDI email list
• eligible to receive the KMDI Graduate Fellow Grant.

Upon completion of their primary degree program, the fellows' internship comes to a close and they cease to be eligible for these benefits (excluding mailing list subscription and any other alumni contact).

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The KMDI Graduate Fellow Grant
All KMDI Fellows are eligible to receive the KMDI Graduate Fellow Grant. The grant is intended to cover research/travel expenses and is awarded to candidates who, during their internship as Fellows,

• publish work in the field of KMD in a refereed journal
  or
• present work in the field of KMD at a recognized academic conference

Fellows are required to apply separately to receive this award. Candidates may apply by sending a written request of no more than one page, addressed to the Collaborative Program Committee (the letter may be emailed to program@kmdi.utoronto.ca). The letter should provide the following information:

• your name, department, dissertation subject/title, and supervisor
• indication of whether the funds are requested for a conference paper or a publication
• title of article/paper
• names of co-author(s)/co-presenters if any
• research group, funding agency or department supporting the original research
• length of article/paper
• short abstract (one paragraph) describing content of research presented in the paper. The abstract may be attached as a separate page if the applicant prefers.
• if published work: name of refereed journal in which the paper has been placed and expected publication date, journal URL if applicable
• if conference presentation: title of conference, institute/agency hosting event, location and date, conference URL is applicable

Funds can only be made available to support work that is in the field of KMD, or which has clear applications to that field. Although a description of the work (offered in the abstract) might seem sufficient, applicants should make sure that they have made a strong case for the relevance of their work to the field of KMD. Application letters should therefore include additional commentary that:

• explains how the research fits into the field of KMD, citing context, critical/research issues, etc.
• identifies similar previous and/or current research
• indicates possible applications of the research and areas for future investigation

Applications can be submitted any time during the Fellow's tenure. The Committee will review grant applications during regularly scheduled Committee meetings.

Provision of grant money will be subject to the availability of funds. ($500 is a typical allowance per individual grant). Only KMDI Fellows may to receive grants. They are each eligible for one grant per academic year.

Candidates who receive a grant should, upon completion of the conference or publication of the paper, make a description of their research available for Institute or Program publications and web site.

While all active Fellows will be eligible for this award, they are not guaranteed monetary remuneration upon successfully fulfilling its criteria, nor as a general term or condition of Fellowship.

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