Academic Programme
A core element of the Fellowship experience is the two-week academic programme (also known as the seminar series) on democracy, good governance and civil society.
The aim is to introduce Fellows to the political process in a mature democracy. The fortnight consists of a series of discussions and meetings with senior academics and practitioners combined with visits to illustrate how public policy is made and developed (seeing at first hand the work of community groups, local service providers, trade unions and local authorities). The topics covered include:
- Representative government in a democracy;
- Citizenship, law and rights;
- Civil society and the popular voice;
- Business and public life; and
- International institutions.
The seminar series is designed to offer opportunities for comparison and contrast and explore issues most relevant to Fellows countries. What Fellows want most is to meet other professionals and get people with experience to reflect on their experiences - rather than academic debates and literature. The seminars aim to do this by introducing Fellows to people, institutions and organisations involved in the political process in the UK. As all John Smith Fellows are active and experienced leaders themselves coming from a variety of backgrounds, their exchanges with each other and group work are also very important.
The seminar series is not a self-contained academic course, but an integral part of the Fellowship Programme. It provides a context for Fellows individual attachments and meetings with politicians later in the five weeks. There is also a further element to the experience time set aside for planning and preparation of Fellows presentations on the final day (in Downing Street) and assistance in developing an individual action plan. Fellows are encouraged to think constructively about what they learn while in the UK, what they might see that is of use to them in their work, and how they can turn these insights into concrete developments to take back to their workplaces.
