The University of Auckland’s Centre for Asia Pacific Refugee Studies (CAPRS) focuses on generating and amplifying rigorous scholarly research, particularly that which is led by those with lived experience of forcible displacement.

To further this mission, CAPRS offers a Non-Residential Fellowship (NRF) programme. The NRF enables those who have recently completed masters or doctoral research to affect change: specifically, the ways policymakers, practitioners, or the general public discuss, view and act on the contemporary context of climate or conflict induced displacement in the Asia-Pacific region. Ideally, fellows will be individuals with lived experience of forcible displacement themselves.

As a non-residential fellowship, successful applicants can complete this fellowship from anywhere, as long as they meet the other eligibility criterion (see below).

 Fellows will be asked to identify an approach to disseminating, sharing and amplifying their research, and to develop a timeline for this over the course of six to nine months commencing in May 2025. Dissemination approaches could include development of a policy paper, a series of public blogs or opinion pieces, a conference paper and accompanying presentation, and/or submission to government or other decision-making body. Fellows need to be able to specify who they want to influence and how.

Each fellow will be awarded $12,500 NZD, which they can use at their discretion to support both time and expenses related to planned dissemination activities. A total of three fellowships will be awarded this year through a competitive application process.

The fellowship will commence on/about May 15. Fellows will be assigned a mentor by CAPRS who will work alongside and advise them. As a cohort, fellows will meet online every two months, to share and discuss their progress.  A series of online professional development seminars will also be offered to support fellows in their work. These seminars will provide guidance on research impact, working with the media, and communicating findings to different audiences (including policymakers). These sessions will be led by experts from across the University of Auckland, many of whom are affiliated scholars of CAPRS.

It is important that fellows are able to fully participate in all of these activities.

This fellowship programme has been sponsored by CAPRS' partner institution, Potato Productions Singapore and the Boyd Clarke Foundation.

Apply now.

Applications for the 2025 NRF programme remain open until 23.59pm (NZ time) Friday 18 April 2025.

• Must have completed their masters or PhD studies with an independent research component in the last 18 months.
• The research component completed must be explicitly related to some aspect of conflict or climate induced displacement of populations, including refugees, asylum seekers, stateless, and/or internally displacement people.
• The research is focussed on a context in the Asia-Pacific region (including Aotearoa/New Zealand), or the proposed dissemination approach must target stakeholders in the region.
  
• Strong preference will be given to individuals with lived experience of forced displacement, but others can apply.

• CV: format with current status, education background, work experience (where applicable), and any past publications/articles you have been involved in writing.
• Summary of your research, which could be the abstract of your masters or PhD thesis, but which makes clear the impact and significance of your research.
  
• Planned dissemination plan/approach: You will be asked in the application to identify who you seek to influence/target with your research, why they are important to influence, how you seek to influence them (i.e. what specific dissemination approaches will you take), and a clear plan of steps (with timeframes) to achieve this goal.  This plan must be feasible to achieve in the timeframe specified.
• Letter of recommendation from an academic supervisor or professional supervisor who can attest to the importance of the research completed and its significance in impacting change for forcibly displaced peoples.