Summer Research Program

YCR Summer Research Programme Overview:

YCR Summer Research Programme is a great opportunity to learn and grow on a personal level. Not only it provides a chance to develop and diversify skillsets by engaging in a thought-provoking research experience but also lends an opportunity to virtually explore the world and build network beyond the national borders. It is a 6-week programme that aims to break the traditional disciplinary boundaries and delve into the emerging interdisciplinary research journey. We encourage our participants to develop critical research questions that aim to fundamentally transform societies for a better and inclusive future.

The programme is planned in a way that helps participants to develop their research questions related to the themes they chose to work on. Our esteemed research advisors, thereafter, will support them in developing their research and getting it published on credible platforms.

We believe that it is essential for students pursuing their degrees in research to have interdisciplinary knowledge and experience to be well prepared for the emerging globalized world. Interdisciplinary research allows students to go beyond traditional lines and enable them to develop different viewpoints and contrasting ideas for solving global problems. Furthermore, it is also crucial for effective policymaking that aims at addressing national and global issues. Therefore, at YCR Summer Research Programme we encourage our participants to engage in diverse policy discourses and assist them in devising efficient policies through our interdisciplinary approach.

Because our participants belong to diverse backgrounds, we encourage them to engage socially and academically. Given their respective strengths and weaknesses, our participants support each other in different ways, which helps us in building a community-style environment that nurtures diversity and equality.

Brief Road Map of the Summer Programme:

YCR Summer Research Programme consists of 6 weeks of research related course work. The first few weeks consist of introductory sessions in which we equip our participants with the necessary knowledge about how to conduct research and what methodologies and techniques can be employed for conducting different forms of research. This year we have planned to re-orient our strategy in the context of the current Covid-19 pandemic. We will be conducting sessions about how participants can adjust to the current unprecedented situation, to carry on their research endeavors, unhindered by the present global settings.

Before the sessions commence, our team will provide necessary course material that covers the basics of research methodologies, including data analysis, qualitative research techniques, and literature reviews. We will build upon these basics later during our 6-weeks sessions to ensure that our participants can conduct their research.

Programme Advisors:

Our advisors are professionals from diverse countries and backgrounds, and have hands-on experience in the field of social research. They will be mentoring our participants about essentialities of conducting quality research while drawing from their relevant past experiences. This close engagement with these professionals will help young researchers approach broad development problems and learn methodologies and other techniques to understand socio-economic and political issues. Furthermore, they will also guide them about the prospect of their work in different social sciences fields.

Eligibility Criteria:

College/High School Students: applying for universities this year who are willing to experience the research oriented environment of higher studies and looking forward to have rigorous, inclusive and holistic learning experience.
University Students: who are currently enrolled in full-time bachelors or Masters Degree programme.
Students who want to expand their horizon of learning beyond borders and have a multicultural environment at home, and who are willing to share their own experiences with others, are highly encouraged to apply.
Students with previous research experience; and/or who are passionate to research and learn about global social, economic and political issues.
Virtual study programs enrollees and Non-traditional students: Individuals who are looking forward to diversify their study experience are encouraged to take part in this programme. Not only it will help in polishing professional skills, but will also help in personal development and growth.

Young Researchers will be selected based on their dedication towards the programme. The same will be evaluated through their applications. Since the program is formatted in a non-traditional manner, therefore, strong sense of commitment, flexibility, patience, appreciation and proactive participation are particularly important.

YCR Summer Research Programme Overview

YCR Summer Research Programme was a great opportunity to learn and grow on a personal level. Not only it provided a chance to develop and diversify skill sets by engaging in a thought-provoking research experience but also lent an opportunity to virtually explore the world and build networks beyond the national borders. It was a 6-week programme that aimed at breaking the traditional disciplinary boundaries and delved into the emerging interdisciplinary research journey. We encouraged our participants to develop critical research questions that aimed to fundamentally transform societies for a better and inclusive future.
The programme was planned in a way that helped participants to develop their research questions related to the themes they chose to work on. Our esteemed research advisors, thereafter, supported them in developing their research and getting it published on credible platforms.
We believe that it is essential for students pursuing their degrees in research to have interdisciplinary knowledge and experience to be well prepared for the emerging globalized world. Interdisciplinary research allows students to go beyond traditional lines and enable them to develop different viewpoints and contrasting ideas for solving global problems. Furthermore, it is also crucial for effective policymaking that aims at addressing national and global issues. Therefore, at YCR Summer Research Programme we encouraged our participants to engage in diverse policy discourses and assisted them in devising efficient policies through our interdisciplinary approach.

Because our participants belonged to diverse backgrounds, we encouraged them to engage socially and academically. Given their respective strengths and weaknesses, our participants supported each other in different ways, which helped us in building a community-style environment that nurtured diversity and equality.

YCR Summer Research Programme consisted of 6 weeks of research related course work. The first few weeks consisted of introductory sessions in which we equiped our participants with the necessary knowledge about how to conduct research and what methodologies and techniques could be employed for conducting different forms of research. In 2019 we had planned to reorient our strategy in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic. We conducted sessions about how participants could adjust to the current unprecedented situation, to carry on their research endeavors, unhindered by the present global settings.
Before the sessions commenced, our teams provided necessary course material that covered the basics of research methodologies, including data analysis, qualitative research techniques, and literature reviews. We built upon those basics later during the 6-weeks sessions to ensure that our participants could conduct their research.

Our advisors were professionals from diverse countries and backgrounds and had hands-on experience in the field of social research. They mentored our participants about essentialities of conducting quality research while drawing from their relevant past experiences. This close engagement with these professionals helped young researchers approach broad development problems and learn methodologies and other techniques to understand socio-economic and political issues. Furthermore, the advisors also guided them about the prospects of their work in different social sciences fields.

Rural development entails building and releasing the potential abilities, skills and knowledge of rural men and women. This is essential to enable them to utilize their resources to fulfill their needs. The overarching objective of rural development is poverty alleviation that is, enabling people to break the cycle of poverty, which begins with lack of sufficient socio-economic opportunities. The programme will help explore the dynamics of rural development and the possible way forward for more equitable socio-economic progress and development

Education and innovation are deeply intertwined. Multiple studies have demonstrated the importance of education and training for the innovative capacity and performance of entire economies. This theme will help explore the concepts “educational innovations” and “innovations in education” among others and their relevance in today’s time. How does education and innovation translate for developing countries? Will it help them take a leap forward or serve as yet another barrier to transcend their current state of development? This along with other aspects around the theme will help participants envision the future post pandemic more seriously.

Despite having a significant percentage share in the demographic makeup in many countries, young people often find themselves marginalized from mainstream politics and decision-making. They struggle to gain the respect of public officials and convince them that they have the skills and experience to engage in political activity and lead positive change in their communities. This exclusion, combined with limited educational and economic opportunities, can leave young people both idle and frustrated with the status quo. Today’s youth need real opportunities to participate in political processes and contribute to practical solutions that advance development. The theme will help explore ideas around the need and ways and the possibility for the youth to participate in politics.

Many developmental problems surface due to the failure of leadership. This may include absence of ethical leadership or lack of integrity in leadership. The theme will explore the notions of ethical leadership, developmental integrity and the ways to achieve and sustain them. During the programme we will further try to explore if integrity and ethical leadership for development only entail devising and enforcing codes of conduct to contain corruption or is there something more than that. We will further try to understand the role of money, its impact on democracy, political participation and policy decision making to the detriment/benefits for the electorate.

Pandemics are large-scale outbreaks of infectious disease that can greatly increase morbidity and mortality over a wide geographic area and cause significant economic, social, and political disruption. There will be discussion on how pandemics are affecting our current healthcare setup and what could be the future strategies in order to limit health and other associated crises.

Testimonials

“As an MBA student, I had limited avenues for academic research. I applied to YCR with the hope that I could gain some research experience that would help prepare me for my aspirations to pursue research professionally. At YCR we conducted a cross sectional study of the health sector. It was a valuable learning experience as the project enabled me to interact with diverse socioeconomic strata, learn from professionals in the health sector as well as gain first-hand knowledge on methods of conducting quantitative research. Our research findings resulted in a research paper that is under review for publication in an international journal. Furthermore, my experience at YCR played a vital role in achieving my dream.” (Saima Kazmi – SRP 2019 Alumna)

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We have ideas but they are all scattered in our psyche. This creates confusion and ambiguity as to what is needed to be done. Without articulation, we can’t effectively communicate our ideas to others. YCR is a place with exceptional mentors who guide your thinking and give it a specific direction.” (Muhammad Umer Shaikh – SRP 2019 Alumnus)