The Urban Fellows Programme (UFP) is scholarship-based, nine-month, full-time, residential and inter-disciplinary, situated at the IIHS, City Campus in Bengaluru. The UFP seeks to equip, nurture, and prepare a new generation of graduates and young professionals committed to the common good, who can become change-makers, team players, original thinkers, reflective practitioners, entrepreneurs and thought leaders to address India’s complex urban challenges. The UFP combines classroom-based teaching, site-based applied learning, work in live projects, and external internships to introduce learners to diverse forms of urban practice.

Through the UFP, Fellows understand issues of urbanisation in India and the global South; learn from practice; develop skills necessary to tackle key urban issues in India; build an inter-disciplinary foundation; network with thought leaders; and learn from a diverse and experienced faculty.

The UFP consists of seven key Learning Elements:

The Commons: Using a mix of classroom-based teaching, and case-based learning, the Commons is where Fellows understand the different approaches, systems, aspects, and components that make up the urban. 

Elective Modules: Electives build on concepts and skills taught in the Commons and allow learners to create their own trajectory through the UFP by focusing on particular sectors and focus areas they want to develop. 

Applied Practica and Projects: The Practica are term-length, site-based applied learning modules that enable Fellows to integrate theory with practice as well as to deploy skills and concepts learned in the classroom to imagine and develop appropriate, innovative and sustainable solutions for the Indian context. The Fellows are also placed with different project teams within IIHS. This enables real-time application of the theory and skills they learn during the UFP. 

Exposure Visit: Through a series of field-based exposure trips in cities of different sizes and types, Fellows are exposed to complex problems in the real world. They observe, diagnose and conceptualise solutions to real life problems in small towns as well as in larger cities in India. In 2020-21 and 2021-2022, Exposure Visits to cities outside Karnataka were not conducted due to COVID-19 travel restrictions. However, these visits are an integral component of the UFP, and for the 2022-23 batch will be initiated after considering relevant COVID-19 guidelines, IIHS’s operating procedures and safety protocols. 

Masterclasses: Masterclasses provide Fellows with opportunities to meet thought-leaders and practitioners from India and across the world, to learn about their work and the challenges they face as practitioners in different disciplines and domains. 

Skill Labs: Through the UFP, Fellows are equipped with the most appropriate technical, analytical and professional skills that will be taught through a series of labs, as well as through assignments and the Practica and Projects. 

Internship: UFP provides for a two-month internship for all Fellows in order to facilitate the transition from classroom learning to the complex world of work and practice. Internships are offered in government departments and public institutions, private firms and practices, non-governmental organisations, research think-tanks, development sector organisations and planning and design firms, among others. 

Eligibility: Recent graduates and young professionals from varied educational backgrounds or practice domains who were born on or after 1 August 1992 are eligible to apply. Read more about the eligibility criteria here.

Scholarships: The UFP is committed to providing scholarships to candidates who receive admission and are unable to pay the tuition, after a review of their financial needs.

Life as a fellow:

A series of webinars were hosted from 25 March to 6 April where UFP faculty addressed queries specific to the curriculum and admissions. If you missed the webinars, watch them here. You can also hear from our alumni about the UFP and the various aspects of the Programme in their student testimonials and interactive sessions.

Application deadline is 25 April 2022. For more information, please visit the website.