VidhiAagaz Student Correspondents Fellowship
Learn how scholarly publishing works from a Crossref member press, represent VidhiAagaz at your institution, and take your place at its conferences and programmes. The Fellowship is open to students of law, management, the humanities and the social sciences in any country.
- Term
- Twelve months
- Time
- About two to four hours a week
- Open to
- Students in any country
- Fellows
- One at each institution
About the Fellowship
Much of the academic life of a university is organised by its students: the conferences, the journals, the research and moot societies. They are often the first to know what their institution is planning, and the people best placed to carry an idea to the faculty who decide.
The Student Correspondents Fellowship brings such students into the work of VidhiAagaz. Fellows are its correspondents on their campuses. They keep VidhiAagaz informed of the academic life of their institutions, carry its programmes to them, and assist it when it works with them. In return, VidhiAagaz trains them in the practice of academic publishing, gives them a place at its conferences and programmes, and records the work they do.
The Fellowship is honorary. It is a fellowship in learning and representation, and it has nothing to do with the publication of anyone’s work: Fellows do not seek papers for VidhiAagaz journals, and the Fellowship gives no advantage in the review or publication of any work.
Aims of the Fellowship
The Fellowship is offered with the following aims:
- to give students a working knowledge of how scholarly publishing is done and how it is judged;
- to connect the academic life of institutions with VidhiAagaz, so that their conferences, journals and faculty find the publishing support they need;
- to give students a record of real work: published writing, roles at conferences and responsibility on their own campuses; and
- to build, over the years, a network of Fellows and former Fellows across institutions and countries.
Whom the Fellowship looks for
Students who are curious about how research is published, who write clearly, who are trusted by their peers and teachers, and who carry through what they undertake. A place on a journal, a conference committee or a research or moot society helps, but is not required.
What the Fellowship provides
Each Fellow receives the following during the term.
Training in academic publishing
An induction course on CLRS Academy: how a scholarly journal works, the conduct of peer review, the Core Practices of COPE, DOIs, Crossref and ORCID, how indexing services assess journals, and how to recognise a predatory publisher. A certificate in academic publishing practice is awarded on completing it.
A place at conferences
Fellows serve as rapporteurs, hosts and moderators at VidhiAagaz conferences, many of them with speakers from other countries. A rapporteur’s report is published under the Fellow’s name.
Published writing
Reports, event write-ups and interviews with the heads and editors of institutions, published on the VidhiAagaz website under the Fellow’s name.
Programmes
A complimentary place at VidhiAagaz conferences, workshops and courses during the term, and early notice of its calls and programmes.
The Fellows’ Conclave
An annual online meeting of the Fellows of every institution, at which each presents the work of their campus.
A record of the work
A letter of appointment and the designation VidhiAagaz Student Correspondent Fellow, a listing on this website, and at the end of the term a certificate of fellowship that records the work the Fellow has done.
VidhiAagaz may also give a letter of recommendation to a Fellow who has completed the term well, offer an internship in its events, communications or publishing operations, and name one Fellow each year as Fellow of the Year.
The work of a Fellow
A Fellow is the correspondent of VidhiAagaz at their institution. During the term, a Fellow:
Reports on campus life
Keeps VidhiAagaz informed, through a short monthly report, of the institution’s conferences, seminars and lectures, its journals, changes in its faculty and editorial teams, and its collaborations.
Conferences and books
Tells the convener of a conference at the institution that VidhiAagaz publishes conference special issues and proceedings, and lets VidhiAagaz know of edited volumes that faculty are planning.
The Journal Grant
Brings the VidhiAagaz Journal Infrastructure Grant to the notice of the institution’s journals and their Faculty Editors.
VidhiAagaz programmes
Makes VidhiAagaz conferences and programmes known within the institution, with its permission where its rules require it.
Chairs and speakers
Suggests members of the faculty who would suit a session as chair or speaker, with the reasons. The invitation is always made by VidhiAagaz.
Writing and interviews
Writes reports of events and, where the person agrees, interviews the institution’s principal, dean or journal editors.
Events
Assists VidhiAagaz on the ground when it organises or takes part in an event at the institution.
Campus session
Helps arrange one session a year at the institution, given by VidhiAagaz, on publishing standards and research integrity.
The library
Asks the institution’s library to list the VidhiAagaz journals among its electronic resources.
Principles and conditions
The Fellowship rests on three principles, which every Fellow accepts.
- No work on papers. A Fellow does not invite, collect or forward submissions to any VidhiAagaz journal, and does not assist any author, the Fellow included, in having work published by VidhiAagaz.
- Fellows introduce; VidhiAagaz decides. A Fellow does not quote a price, offer terms, promise anything or sign on behalf of VidhiAagaz. Every proposal and every invitation is made by VidhiAagaz itself.
- No payments. A Fellow does not ask for or receive money from anyone in connection with the Fellowship. The Fellowship is honorary, and no commission is paid on any work.
Conditions of the Fellowship
- Honorary. No stipend or salary is paid. VidhiAagaz meets a Fellow’s expenses only where it has agreed to do so in writing beforehand.
- Writing for VidhiAagaz. What a Fellow writes, photographs or records for VidhiAagaz under the Fellowship belongs to VidhiAagaz, and is published under the Fellow’s name. A Fellow may include a published piece in a portfolio or an application.
- Completing the term. A Fellow who wishes to leave early gives thirty days’ notice and hands over the work in hand. The certificate of fellowship, any letter of recommendation and a place among former Fellows are given only for a completed term.
- The Terms of the Fellowship. The full Terms are sent with the letter of appointment, and an appointment takes effect when the Fellow signs and returns the letter.
Who may apply
Applications are invited from students enrolled in a degree programme in law, management, the humanities or the social sciences at a university, college or institution in any country. An applicant should:
- be enrolled at the institution for the whole term of the Fellowship;
- take part in its academic life, for example through a journal, a conference committee or a research or moot society, although this is not required; and
- name a member of the institution’s academic staff as a referee, whom VidhiAagaz may contact.
One Fellow is ordinarily appointed at each institution, so that an application from an institution which already has a Fellow is considered only when that Fellowship ends.
How to apply
- 01
Read this page
This page sets out what is asked of a Fellow, what the Fellowship provides, and its principles and conditions.
- 02
Choose a referee
Ask a member of your institution’s academic staff who knows you to act as your referee, and tell them that VidhiAagaz may write to them.
- 03
Complete the form
The form asks about your studies, the academic life of your institution and why you wish to be a Fellow, and for a short piece of writing about a recent academic event at your institution.
- 04
Selection
Applications are considered as they arrive. VidhiAagaz may invite an applicant to a short conversation online, and writes to every applicant with the outcome.
Questions
Is the Fellowship paid?
No. The Fellowship is honorary. Its value lies in the training, the roles at conferences, the published writing and the record of the work, and no commission is paid on anything a Fellow introduces.
Will the Fellowship help me publish my own paper with VidhiAagaz?
No. A Fellow may submit work to any journal like any other author, but the Fellowship gives no advantage in the review, publication or fees of any work, and Fellows do not assist other authors with VidhiAagaz.
I am in my final year. May I apply?
Only if you will be enrolled for the whole twelve months of the term.
Does my institution need to approve?
No formal approval is needed. You name a member of the academic staff as your referee, and VidhiAagaz may write to them. Fellows act within the rules of their institution, and nothing in the Fellowship requires them to act against those rules.
How much time does it take?
About two to four hours a week, more in the week of an event and less in others. A Fellow’s studies come first, and a Fellow who needs a pause, for examinations or any other reason, has only to tell VidhiAagaz.
Can the Fellowship continue after a year?
VidhiAagaz may invite a Fellow who has completed the term well to continue as a Senior Fellow, and a Fellow may propose a student of the institution to succeed them.
Applications
Applications are considered as they arrive. Enquiries may be addressed to the Fellowship Office at fellowship@vidhiaagaz.com.