The da Vinci Grant Program (DVG)






In Memory of Venerable Gemma Doyim Koh, Dean of Sacred Heart College, Professor of Catholic University, and Founding President of the ISR Foundation-Korea

The  da Vinci Grant Program (DVG) supports highly promising Asian university students  and emerging leaders committed to innovative research in health sciences,  technology, arts, humanities, social science and related disciplines. The program aims to invest not only in creative research relevant to Asia, but  also in the students as future scholars and leaders of Asia and the global  research community. The DVG program was established in 2012 in memory of Venerable Professor Gemma Doyim Koh  (1935-2001) of the Catholic University and former Dean of Sacred Heart College, the Republic of Korea.  Professor Koh served as the founding President of the ISRF-Korea, or the International Reconciliation Corps in Korean.

Successful research proposals for DVG will detail a creative plan for interdisciplinary research with pragmatic  applications. Students should incorporate their main disciplines with at least  two other fields that include survey methodology and statistics. In addition,  students should demonstrate how the research project fits into their projected plans for study or work at the hosting university and beyond. Examples of  possible research topics include, but are not limited to: improving  international business management by incorporating survey data and statistical  analysis, evaluating agricultural programs by collecting survey data with  farms, designing and testing an educational assessment survey for high school  or college students, developing a method of survey data collection by cell phones, or crafting a computerized method of linking big data such as  international surveys, census and administrative records, etc.

Students will work closely with select hosting university faculty and an international faculty adviser for one year to  research and author a paper to present at the following year's PSI. These faculty advisers will  help direct students’ research and writing. In some cases, a student may  co-author a paper with an adviser with the student as the lead author. Students  are encouraged to choose a PSI and/or hosting university faculty adviser prior  to submitting their proposal. However, having no adviser in advance will not  disqualify applicants.

Students with the three best proposals will  receive additional funding to attend and present their research in a renowned  international conference on survey methods and statistics in the U.S., Europe,  or Asia (e.g., Joint Statistical Meetings, European Survey Research Association,  International Statistical Institute, or American Association for the Advancement of Science). These grants cover travel to and registration for the academic  conference. 

Criteria for  selection include the validity and feasibility of the research proposal, the  candidate’s academic and other preparation, the innovative and creative  incorporation of survey methodology and statistics with other disciplines,  relevance and benefit of the proposal to the DPRK, English proficiency, and  demonstration of how the project fits within the applicant’s academic and  professional profile. 

Proposals will be reviewed by  the DVG Review Committee, composed of PSI and hosting university faculty and DVG  Director, Yena Lee. Questions may be directed to yena.lee@yale.edu. 

Award amount: Several grants for the value of $500  each; three grants for up to the value of $5,000 each, covering the travel cost
of each awarded research team's principal investigator to an international  conference to present interdisciplinary survey research  studies. Grants  are made possible by supporters of innovative interdisciplinary research to  advance international collaboration in survey methodology, statistics and  related subject areas, and benefit the disadvantaged people.

Term of award: Sep 2019 – August  2020

Submission deadline: August 31, 2019 by 11:59  pm

Awardees announced: October  2019

Application  checklist: 
□     Application cover  letter
□     Up to 9,000-word research  proposal
□     One letter of recommendation,  preferably by a potential adviser, emailed directly to  yena.lee@yale.edu.
□     Résumé

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