Academic Bridge Fellowship
US-Israel Academic Bridge Fellowship
The Academic Bridge Fellowship will bring students attending Israeli universities or those getting ready to enter their first university year to the United States for a fully-funded summer program involving research and academic and cultural exchange. The inaugural program will take place from June 18 to July 23, 2024, at the University of Pennsylvania, a leading academic institution with programs in wide-ranging fields, including science, engineering, medicine, law, business, and the humanities, among other disciplines. The bridge fellowship is a scholarly summer internship, offering early exposure to the academic system in American universities and enhancing mutual understanding between fellows and members of our university community.
Fellows will work alongside students, faculty, and research staff in a wide range of academic research areas, including biology, medicine, psychology, business, law, and engineering, among other topics. Our program will provide fellows with an immersive experience studying and contributing to scholarly research. Fellows will be responsible for contributing to their group's research or scholarly activities. In doing so, they will gain exposure to the American academic system, thus offering them valuable training and experiences and building friendships. By sharing time together and participating in this exchange, students of different cultures, backgrounds, and life experiences will create positive dialogue and mutual understanding, which will greatly enrich learning communities.
Opportunity and Eligibility
The bridge fellowship concerns cultural exchange between fellows from Israeli universities or those preparing to begin their academic journey and members of our university communities. We invite applications from anyone who attends an Israeli university or is preparing to begin their first year at an Israeli university and who is eligible to travel to the US. We expect candidates to meet English language proficiency requirements. Selection criteria include a strong commitment to spending 4-5 weeks engaged in full-time academic training/research and particular personal qualities or experiences that indicate a likelihood of success in our program. All applicants meeting the eligibility criteria are welcome to apply, regardless of ethnicity, religion or citizenship. We encourage applications from those who meet the eligibility criteria and who also have completed military or national service (if applicable), and anyone affected by the October 7 massacre or the ongoing war.
Applications are closed for the 2024 class of fellows.
Program Organizers
Michael Jacob Kahana, Ph.D., Edmund J. and Louise W. Kahn Term Professor of Psychology, School of Arts & Sciences
Maayan Levy, Ph.D. Assistant Professor, Department of Microbiology, Perelman School of Medicine
Peter Decherney, Ph.D., Edmund J. and Louise W. Kahn Term Professor of Cinema, School of Arts & Sciences
Ron Berman, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Marketing, [1]
Ronny Drapkin, M.D. / Ph.D. Ronny Drapkin, Franklin Payne Associate Professor of Pathology, Perelman School of Medicine
