Preface on the usage of AI
We’re a responsible organization. Please be responsible with your usage of AI. Remember this is about you and describing your motivation. We don’t look for polished answers.How to write a good application
You will realize that our application form is slightly different to what you might be used to. As the Discovery Journey is an ideation program that meets you very early during your first steps in your journey towards purpose or impact career, our questions aim at understanding you as a person and your eagerness to bring about change rather than past successes or finalized projects.
Keep in mind that we’re receiving many applications. So try to be concise and short enough in your answers (about 2-3 sentences per open-ended answer) but also ensure that we can understand your motivations and what you care for in order to make sure that you really fit into our program and align with the values of the Social Impact Award.
We do not expect you to already have an idea concept developed. Our program is designed to help you with that or support you to improve an existing one. Remember that this is our super early stage ideation program. If you are unsure whether this is the right program fit, please consider applying for our incubation program instead, join our info hours to help you orient or reach out to your local country coordinator.
What are the selection criteria
In order to join the Discovery Journey program, you need to fulfill some basic requirements that allow you to take part: be under 30 years old, have a stable internet connection, English language skills as well as availability on Thursdays from 4-6 pm (CET) from July to September.
Most importantly, we need to understand your motivation and program fit. If you can show us that you are meeting the following criteria through the answers that you provide - you have good chances of getting admitted:
- Clarity of Interest Can you articulate what draws your attention/which issues concern you, even if you haven't crystallized it into a project yet?
- Reflective Capacity Do you show self-awareness, ability to think about your own ways of thinking, and have genuine interest in growing personally?
- Realistic Commitment Do you understand what you're signing up for and can you realistically participate?
- Alignment Does your vision of impact connect to our program's focus areas? And do you want to collaborate?
- Bias for Action Are you ready to experiment, learn by doing and take initiative (not just consume information)?
How does the selection process work
After applications close, our International Selection Committee assesses applications on the platform on a rolling basis. So we do appreciate it if you don’t wait until the last day to submit your application. However, only after the deadline and that all applications have been reviewed, we’re making the final decision according to a diverse cohort selection. That means we try to admit an equal number of participants per country and allow for age and gender distribution.
The International Selection Committee consists of members from our SIA community. They are international representatives from the participating countries: country coordinators, Youth Council members, local alumni and previous participants of the Discovery Journey. They know SIA and our programs very well and have received an onboarding and selection guideline with the above mentioned criteria to assess your application. For each of the five criterias, your application gets rated on a scale and thus is compared to other applications. In online selection calls, the International Selection Committee discusses applications and takes decisions together. A transparent and fair process is important to us. We practice what we preach.
Once we finish our selection process, you will receive a confirmation email from us in order to inform you about the selection outcome. You will have about one week to reconfirm your participation. This is when we send you the final onboarding information and get you all set up for our Onboarding Call when you will meet your cohort for the first time.