Wikimedia Race and Knowledge Equity Fellow

Howard University School of Law (HUSL) and the Institute for Intellectual Property and Social Justice (IIPSJ) invite applications to the Wikimedia Race and Knowledge Equity (WRKE) Fellowship Program, a  research and advocacy fellowship designed to explore the intersections between racial equity, free knowledge, and the intellectual property ecosystem and to promote sound policy for achieving social justice through these overlapping disciplines.

WRKE Fellows are expected to undertake scholarly and other research, produce public intellectual writings and scholarly publications likely to make a significant contribution to free knowledge and racial equity scholarship, and to organize and present policy and community educational programming relevant to the Fellowship’s research and education agenda.

The WRKE Program is funded through the Knowledge Equity Fund at the Wikimedia Foundation, the non-profit organization which operates and supports the free online encyclopedia Wikipedia and several other collectively-produced free knowledge projects. The Foundation’s mission is to ensure everyone, everywhere can equitably access and share knowledge online.

FELLOWSHIP DETAILS: The WRKE Fellowship Program seeks applications from law school graduates, Master’s degree and Ph.D. recipients and doctoral candidates, and other post-graduate applicants who demonstrate interest in the Fellowship research agenda and related fields of research, scholarship, law and policy making, and social activism. Applicants with relevant work experience, including policy analysts, judicial law clerks, practicing attorneys, legislative staffers, and academics, particularly candidates with three or more years of full-time professional expertise, are encouraged to apply. Promising graduating law students and master’s degree candidates will be considered, however, such degree candidates must have been awarded their degrees by the time they begin the Fellowship.

The principal responsibilities of the WRKE Fellow will include:

• Producing and publishing white papers, scholarly essays, blog posts, and op-eds which explore analyses and issues pertinent to the thematic scope of the Fellowship, and recruiting other authors to produce and publish similar works;
• Organizing independent and collaborative educational programming and events, including panel discussions, conferences, and professional and community education webinars, in conjunction with HUSL and IIPSJ staff, and other civil society policy and social activist organizations;
• Supervising student research interns and/or externs in support of the Fellowship’s research objectives;
• Participating in pedagogical and extracurricular activities organized and/or supported by HUSL and IIPSJ, including guest lecturing in the HUSL IP curriculum and supervising a HUSL IPSA/IIPSJ collaborative program;
• Meeting regularly with IIPSJ and Wikimedia staff and submitting quarterly written project progress report updates.

WRKE Fellows work at the direction of the supervising IIPSJ and HUSL personnel and in consultation with Wikimedia Foundation legal and public policy staff. The Fellowship situs (in-person, remote, or hybrid) shall be determined in connection with the Fellow’s professional experience and capabilities and specific research agenda, and subject to the needs of the Fellowship program. The Fellowship work schedule will be structured in accordance with a Fellow’s individual professional experience and program goals and the needs of the Fellowship. The Fellowship compensation is determined in accordance with a Fellow’s experience, work schedule, and program goals. The Fellowship start date is negotiable but no later than September 1, 2023.

Applications will be accepted and reviewed on a rolling basis until July 15, 2023, or until a candidate selection determination has been made. In reviewing applications for the WRKE Fellowship Program, we will consider a candidate’s application materials, work experience, performance during the interview process, references, and demonstrated interest in the Fellowship subject matter, including but not limited to IP law and policy and racial equity and free knowledge initiatives. Qualified candidates will demonstrate outstanding academic credentials, writing and editing ability, and teamwork and collaboration skills; exceptional organizational and management skills, personal initiative and self-motivation; and sound judgment and high integrity and ethical standards.

APPLICATION PROCEDURE: To apply, a candidate should send an email to info@iipsj.org with the subject line WRKE fellowship application and include the following materials, combined into a single document file (preferably in a PDF format) that is labeled with the applicant's name and intended start date (for example, "Keisha Smith July 2022"):

1. A statement of the candidate's interest in and qualifications for the Fellowship Program, including the pertinent research, professional, and/or activism goals that the applicant expects to achieve or support through participation in the Fellowship program. The statement should address how free knowledge can promote racial equity, and the relevance of the IP regime to this social objective.
2. Resume
3. Most recent academic degree program transcript (unofficial transcripts are acceptable)
4. A writing sample that is reflective of the candidate's writing (i.e., that has not been substantially edited by others)
5. Contact information (name, title, organization, street address, email address and phone number) for three academic and/or professional references with an indication of whether they may be contacted without first obtaining clearance from the candidate.

Applications must be complete and sent to the correct email address. Incomplete applications will not be considered. Qualified candidates will be contacted to schedule a virtual initial interview.

QUESTIONS: Please email any questions to us at Tashia.bunch@iipsj.org.