ASU World Innovators (AWI) Program

Applicants should be in their mid-career, possess working proficiency in English with a high-degree of professional, academic and work achievements. Aspiring ASU Global Leaders must demonstrate commitment to highest level of ethical leadership, show decisive recommendations that substantiate their leadership qualities, and make a commitment to return to their home environment at the end of the program year.

Participants should have a decade or more of career experience. There is no specific age requirement, however, typical AGLs range from 30 to 45 years old.

Yes, applicants must be fluent in English. AGLs must be able to read and understand complex texts; give oral presentations in front of small and large audiences, build a professional network; and create personal relationships with colleagues, Institute staff and distinguished guests. Additionally, participation in the AGL program is contingent on approval of a J1 U.S. visa. English proficiency is a requirement for this visa.

The AGL Program does not accept full-time students or full-time academics. The AGL program is designed for leader-practitioners who seek to implement a high-impact vision for leadership in their home environments.

The Lab selects target countries and sectors that are specific to each program year. However, applicants from all countries and professional backgrounds are encouraged to apply. The key criteria for acceptance into the Program are leadership capacity and vision, your draft Leadership Action Plan, and fulfillment of all other eligibility requirements.

You do not need to be nominated in order to apply to the program. Applicants interested in applying to the program should proceed directly to the online application. Please do not nominate yourself. Multiple nominations do not increase your chances of being selected.

Nominators bring to the attention of the program to qualified candidates who are then invited to apply for participation. Nominators have the opportunity to highlight particular qualifications of an applicant.

Yes, we encourage our nominators to recommend as many qualified candidates as they can.

The deadline for nominations is typically the end of January each year. This allows applicants time to complete their application before the application deadline in mid-February. For information regarding the annual application deadline, please refer to our website for additional information. 

Applicants who have applied to a previous year’s program may submit a new application for the current application period. However, please note that our pool of candidates is highly competitive each year. If you choose to apply to our program for a second time, be sure to highlight any additional leadership accomplishments and impact you have had since your last application.

A Leadership Action Plan (LAP) is a detailed plan of character-driven action for implementation that creates change in your home environment that impacts the public, private or social sector. AGLs are expected to implement their LAP upon the conclusion of the initial program year.

The application period traditionally runs from November to mid-February. Applications are not accepted on a rolling basis and must be submitted during the set application period for consideration. For more on our deadline please see our website.

Final decisions will be sent to all applicants, both successful and unsuccessful, via email within 6-8 weeks following the close of the application window. The program cannot release information or talk about the status of your application on an individual basis before this time.

Unfortunately, it is not possible to provide feedback on individual applications due to the large number of applications. We receive a large number of applications for a limited number of slots every year. Not being selected is in no way a negative reflection on the accomplishments of our many highly skilled applicants.

The program is nine months long and begins in early September and runs through late May of the following calendar year. Participants are expected to be in the United States for the entire program year and attend all four leadership development modules along with contributing at their placement organizations to gain the full AGL experience. 

AGLs are expected to be present and actively participating during all program modules in Washington, New York and Arizona. AGLs are expected to work at their placement organizations and to positively contribute to the organization’s overall mission and goals. AGLs must develop and refine their Leadership Action Plans for implementation after the program year. Finally, following the initial program year, AGLs are called on to be active members in the AGL Global Network and to inform the Institute on a bi-annual basis of the status of their LAPs and their impact in their home environments.

Placement organizations are individually selected by the AGL program staff for each ASU Global Leader. Placements align with each AGL’s professional background and Leadership Action Plan. Placements are designed to be a professional broadening experience to aid in each AGL’s leadership journey. They are not intended to be a simple extension of a participant’s career path. AGLs may not choose their placements.

Yes, the McCain Institute provides each AGL a stipend that covers all standard living costs for a year. Each participant receives the stipend amount monthly, covering expenses such as rent, utilities, food and any other regular costs. The stipend amount varies depending on the cost of living in the participant’s placement city. Added to the stipend is travel allowance that AGLs may use for professional travel in support of their LAP’s during the program year. The overall stipend is separate from the program related cost, such as travel to and from leadership training modules, module lodgings and per diem for the duration of program modules are covered by Arizona State University separately. Per visa regulations, Arizona State University also covers health insurance and workers comp.

Yes, you may bring immediate family members with you to the United States for the initial program year. We cover international travel for immediate family to and from your placement site in the United States at the beginning and end of the program. We do not provide an additional stipend for family members for travel to the training modules in the United States. Any other family expenses will be the responsibility of the AGL.

A placement organization is any organization, private or public, profit or non-profit, that hosts and contributes to the professional development of one of our ASU Global Leaders during the program year.

There are no costs associated with hosting an ASU Global Leader. Arizona State University covers all costs including administrative costs.

We ask placement organizations to provide ASU Global Leaders with a workspace and full integration into the organization’s team for roughly eight months. Our AGLs are not interns; they are mid-career professionals, and are placed in a host organization to contribute to its mission and to develop their Leadership Action Plans.

Our AGLs work with their placement organizations for roughly 10 months out of the year. Our program meets four times a year for leadership development training modules. Each module lasts approximately two weeks and occurs in September, January, March and May. We meet in Arizona, New York and in Washington. The time in between these modules is spent at the host organization.

Arizona State University expects each AGL to make significant contributions to his/her host organization as mid-career professionals with substantial work experience. We ask that AGLs be fully integrated into the organization and given responsibilities, as any other employee would be. The only added element for an AGL is that he/she needs time to work on a Leadership Action Plan. We estimate the time-sharing between host organization and LAP to be 60 to 40 percent, respectively.

Arizona State University provides overall program management and coordination. Beyond that, we see the relationship between the three parties involved is a partnership to develop the AGL’s professional and leadership capacity and empower him or her to make a sustainable impact in his or her community.

If you are interested in hosting an ASU Global Leader in your organization please use the contact form.

We welcome new sponsors of our program and are very grateful for the support of our current donors. Please contact Kathy Cook to discuss sponsorship opportunities.