Announcing the 2016-17 SpicyIP Fellowship!

We’re very happy to announce the next edition of the SpicyIP Annual Fellowship! Applications are now open for the 4th edition of the Fellowship, and we look forward to hearing from those of you who would like to join our team of bloggers.

Happily, our earlier SpicyIP Fellows follow in the tradition of being invited to stay on with the SpicyIP Team, so you will continue to hear from Balaji Subramanian, Kartik Chawla and Kiran George on the blog. The SpicyIP Annual Fellowship has had a great run so far, and we’re very excited to see what it holds for us this year. Read on if you’re interested in joining us in this journey.

The SpicyIP Fellowship 2016-17

SpicyIP Fellows are typically sharp, passionate bloggers, interested in researching and writing on developments in intellectual property rights and the innovation policy scenario in India. This year, we are also including the criteria of ‘enthusiasm’, as we believe it takes a fire in the belly to really go after topics!

Applications are invited from anyone who is interested. Selected Fellows will receive a stipend of Rs. 15,000/-.

Who are we looking for?

As our mission statement reads, our bloggers are bound by an interest in fostering a more transparent, collaborative and productive IP and Innovation ecosystem in India. This is of course a continual journey but we take heart from our successes and strive to go further. Some of our achievements are listed here. With our email subscription list now having over 5300 members and our blog receiving over 125,000 viewers monthly, our blog stats show the growth we’ve had over the years, thanks in great part to our readers who keep the conversations going and keep us on our toes. We are looking to share this platform with similarly dedicated Fellows.

How to apply

• Fellows will be chosen based on quality of guest posts submitted to us over a 6 week period from January 11 to February 19, 2015.
• At least three guest posts per applicant need to be submitted in this 6 week period.
• These guest posts are to be submitted to “[email protected]” with “SpicyIP Fellowship 2016-17” in the subject line.

Evaluation criteria

• Research skills
• Critical analysis
• Succinctness
• Language skills
• Enthusiasm (Completely subjective assessment)

Eligibility

• Anybody is welcome to apply.
• To be considered for the Fellowship, each applicant must submit at least 3 guest posts within the period from January 11 to February 19, 2015.
• These guest posts must pass our standard editorial check for the blog which include:

• An upper word limit of 900 words per post
• Clarity of language
• Strong analysis
• Relevance of topic i.e. – relevance of the post to the Indian IP landscape, (even if not directly about an Indian development). If you’re not sure whether your topic will be suitable – you can check with Swaraj at [email protected]

While posts on current events will be preferred, conceptual and purely analytical posts will be accepted too. If a specific topic has already been covered on the blog, then the post will not be carried unless it brings in a new angle or overlooked aspect.

Terms and conditions

• Once selected, Fellows will be on a probationary period for the first month of the Fellowship (March 2016).
• Fellows will be required to write 6 posts per month for 12 months. If notified in advance, this can be reduced to 4 per month during internship periods; and a complete break period for 4 x 1 week periods (usually taken during exams).
• These posts can be either the Fellow’s own preferred topics so long as they fit within our broader mission statement, or can be chosen from a pool of topics open to all members.
• These posts must be a minimum of 350 words per post.
• Aside from posts, the Fellows may be required to assist in research. Depending on the load of research, posting requirement may be adjusted accordingly.
• The fellowship period will begin on March 1, 2016 and run till February 28, 2017.

Selection Process

• The Fellows will be selected from the guest posters during the above mentioned 6 week period and will be notified by February 22, 2015.
• Once selected, the Fellow(s) will be announced on the blog.

Termination

• Once selected, if an applicant does not fulfill or otherwise terminates their obligation before the end of the fellowship period, the fellowship will be considered cancelled.
• The same will be notified on the blog and that applicant will receive no more than what they have already received up to that point.
• For the duration of the first month of the fellowship, i.e. March 2016, the Fellow will be on a probationary period and we reserve the right to terminate the fellowship if the candidate is deemed unfit in that period.

If there are any questions, please send them across. We look forward to receiving your entries!