How My Team Won the Clinton Global Fellowship

We talked with Geet Chawla, Master of Public Policy (MPP) Class of 2021, about how his team won the Clinton Global Fellowship. 

Tell us a bit about yourself.

I am a rising second year MPP student, complementing my degree with a Certificate in Data Analytics. For the 2020–21 academic year, I am fortunate to hold the Clinton Global Fellowship and the Wilson Fellowship with the Energy Policy Institute of Chicago (EPIC).  Before coming to UChicago, I worked as a Research Associate for Evidence for Policy Design (EPoD) at the Harvard Kennedy School based in New Delhi. Prior to that, I worked for the Centre for Technology, Innovation, and Economic Research (CTIER) and for a member of the Parliament of India. I completed my undergraduate education with a Bachelor of Science in Economics from Symbiosis International University in Pune, India.

How did you learn about the Clinton Global Fellowship?

I learned about the Clinton Global Fellowship during a Harris a Lunch and Learn organized by Professor Ron Gibbs. He shared vital information about the Clinton Global Initiative, Clinton Global University, and the Fellowship. He told us about the process to apply and reviewed required steps to be considered for the Fellowship.

How did you win the Fellowship?

When I worked in international development, I developed an interest in testing technology-driven solutions to solve policy and development challenges. The Fellowship gave me the opportunity to present ideas and solutions to the Clinton Foundation. Through the Clinton Global Initiative, I was encouraged to formulate a team to work on a development issue.

On my team was Parth Khare, MSCAPP'20, who previously consulted for the Chief Economic Advisor of India and The World Bank. He also founded his own initiative, Sociometrik back in India. We also had Samiul Prantar, MPP Class of 2021, who was working in impact investing in his hometown of Dhaka, Bangladesh, before coming to Harris.

Our project, “Preventative Healthcare through a geo-spatial approach,” aims to identify and predict locally occurring water-borne disease outbreaks by identifying pathogens using a geographic information system (GIS) techniques. To get short-listed in for the CGIU initiative, we formalized our project and submitted it to the Clinton University and its representatives at UChicago. After the short-list, we were asked to present an elevator pitch about the project. We were then selected as Clinton Global Fellows and were expected to present our project at the University of Edinburgh in April 2020.

What were some highlights from the summit?

Owing to the unfortunate circumstances, the summit was a virtual event with the flagship engagement being a live session with President Clinton, Governor Andrew Cuomo, and Governor Gavin Newsom discussing the global challenges we are facing because of the spread of COVID-19.

As a part of the fellowship, we were also paired with a mentor to guide and oversee the progress of our projects and help with any hiccups we may face. We are currently working on our project and are excited to present it at the CGUI Summit in April 2021.