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Preliminary Institute Announcement

A preliminary announcement describing the first IAI/UM Summer Institute was distributed by IAI on December 16, 1998. This preliminary announcement generated significant interest, as over 180 queries and requests for more information were logged at the Institute's WWW site between December 1998 and February 1999.

Official Institute Announcement

The official Institute announcement was released on February 17, 1999. The announcement included instructions on how to apply (application forms, a list of required materials, and a checklist to verify that applications were complete). The deadline for reception of applications was set to April 8, 1999.

Eligibility Requirements

• Applicants had to have academic and/or professional background in disciplines relevant to the Institute's theme. Minimum academic qualifications included a 4-year university degree in a relevant discipline. Fields of study appropriate for Institute applicants included, but were not limited to: climatology, climate modeling, oceanography, hydrology and water resources, agronomy, agro-climatology, geography, ecology, statistics, resource economics, environmental policy, environmental legislation, energy studies, political science, and risk analysis.
• Applicants had to be affiliated with a research, educational, or resource management institution, governmental or not, in an IAI Ratified Member Country (although they may be temporarily in another institution, for example as graduate students). At the time of the announcement (February 1999) the IAI Ratified Member Countries included: Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Jamaica, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, The United States of America, Uruguay and Venezuela.
• Preference was given to applicants in the early stages of their careers (within 8 years of graduation). Mid-career scientists and advanced graduate students also were encouraged to apply. Preferably, applicants should have been actively involved in scientific research or in management positions involving use of scientific information. Applicants involved in activities related to the Institute's theme, particularly as part of ongoing or future IAI-sponsored projects, had a better opportunity of being selected. Applicants with purely administrative posts were unlikely to be selected.
• Applicants had to have sufficient command of English (the official language of the Institute) not only to understand lectures and assigned reading material, but also to participate actively in discussions and group activities.
• If selected, participants who were not citizens or legal residents of the United States had to to fulfill conditions necessary to obtain a visa to enter the United States.
• Selected participants had to commit to exclusive dedication to the Summer Institute activities during the three-week period between July 11 and July 30, 1999.

Application Process

A total of 83 complete applications were received from candidates eligible to participate in the Summer Institute. Table 1 shows a breakdown of the applicants by country. Note that the criterion to assign applicants to a given country was flexible. For example, many applications were received from citizens of various IAI countries who were carrying out graduate studies in the United States. In these cases, applicants were assigned to his/her country of nationality if (a) they retained an institutional affiliation with their home countries or (b) had specific plans to return to their home countries.

Table 1. Breakdown by country of complete applications to the first IAI/UM Summer Institute.

There were 32 applications (39%) from female candidates and 51 applications (61%) from male applicants. The age distribution of the applicants is shown in Table 2. Regarding the highest degree attained to date, 17 applicants had a B.S. or similar, 39 applicants had an M.S. or similar, and 27 applicants had a Ph.D.

Table 2. Age distribution of applicants to the first IAI/UM Summer Institute. The age of applicants ranged between 23 and 57.

Selection Process and Criteria

The selection of candidates took place during April 1999, with the participation of representatives from the two organizing institutions (IAI and the University of Miami) and the two Institute Leaders (Drs. Alice Grimm and Diana Liverman).

Institute participants were selected on the basis of: the following criteria

• Academic and/or professional record;
• Demonstrated motivation, interest, and qualification to pursue multidisciplinary research;
• Conceptual clarity of the application essay (Statement of Interest);
• Relevance of the Institute's theme to the applicant's current research or professional activities;
• Participation in ongoing or future IAI-sponsored research;
• Letter(s) of recommendation.

There was a slight delay in completing the process (the original target was to announce the selection results by the end of April 1999). However, the large number of applications received and the high quality of the applicants required a careful and extended review process. Twenty participants and two alternates were selected.

Notification of Selection Results

The IAI Directorate started the process of contacting all applicants via e-mail, FAX or regular mail to inform them about their status on May 6, 1999. All applicants were assured that the selection process was thorough and followed the guidelines defined and announced in advance.

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Page Last Updated: July 3, 1999

Contact Information: Guillermo Podestá, Institute Science Coordinator
e-mail: gpodesta@rsmas.miami.edu
Telephone: 1.305.361.4142
FAX: 1.305.361.4622