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ICIMOD Mountain Chair

Commissioned by ICIMOD, the Mountain Chair is an honorary title conferred upon a prominent scholar working on mountain issues in the Hindu Kush Himalaya. The Mountain Chair promotes the vision and mission of the Himalayan University Consortium (HUC) for enhanced collaboration and dynamic knowledge partnerships among universities in the region for resilient mountain development.

Objective

The ICIMOD Mountain Chair is an honorary title conferred to outstanding scholars from member institutions of the Himalayan University Consortium. The term of the ICIMOD Mountain Chair is for two years.

The goal is to promote inter-university cooperation and enhance institutional capacities through knowledge-sharing and collaborative research and training for sustainable mountain development (SMD) in the HKH region. The ICIMOD Mountain Chair title enables the holder to conduct or finalize a study on SMD issues from transboundary or comparative perspectives in her/his home university and with other HUC members. This allows the Chair to take the lead in bringing a mountain focus to curriculum development and promoting regional collaboration through scholarly exchange activities such as lecture tours and conferences within and beyond the region.

Application Process

Applications for the ICIMOD Mountain Chair position will be invited once every two years through open competition. Applications from among HUC full member institutions is preferred but not mandatory. The five-member Selection Panel will consist of representatives from the HUC Steering Group, the ICIMOD/ICIMOD Foundation Board, and independent subject specialists. A rigorous selection process will review each candidate’s track record, publications, and achievements.

Women and candidates from less-represented ICIMOD Regional Member Countries are strongly encouraged to apply.

For more details, please refer the guidelines for the previous year’s call for ICIMOD Mountain Chair applications.

Expected Outcomes

The ICIMOD Mountain Chair title is expected to create a stream of senior scholars who serve as catalysts for regional collaboration in research and training on mountain-specific issues in the HKH through exchange of knowledge, enhanced collaborative research capacity, and high quality scholarly publications or other forms of knowledge production.

Dr Phanchung (2017 - 2019)

Dr Phanchung was the first ICIMOD Mountain Chair and held the title from December 2017 to June 2018. He is serving as the Director General of the Department of Research and External Relations, RUB.

Dr Jyoti Prakash Tamang (2019 - 2021)

Dr Jyoti Prakash Tamang is one of the pioneer food microbiologists in India working on interpretation of “ethno-microbiology”, and is the current Dean of School of Life Sciences at the Sikkim University, India.

Dr Christopher Scott (2020 - 2022)

Dr Christopher Scott is Director and Research Professor at Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy, University of Arizona, USA and the founding co-director of the AQUASEC Center of Excellence for Water Security.