Ascend 2024

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

At the completion of Ascend: Leadership Development for the Future of Tobacco Control, participants will:

• Have an increased understanding of key tobacco control history, topics, and issues.
• Have enhanced leadership capacity and systems thinking skills to champion effective tobacco control policies.
• Be able to apply effective leadership principles in their daily roles.
• Have a chance to be selected for an internship to apply program content in the real world.
• Have built connections with national and international colleagues involved in tobacco control through the Program’s training and mentorship initiatives.
• Have fostered a community amongst their peers, be welcomed into the global tobacco control community, and continue to stay engaged in tobacco control-related efforts.

APPROACH

The Program combines skills development and mentorship. Participants will:

• Complete the free online course: Global Tobacco Control: Learning from the Experts;
• Attend a two-hour session following the completion of the online course with select IGTC faculty to allow participants to get to know each other, discuss course content, ask questions, and begin networking with one another;
• Attend a 5-day in-person program;
• Commit to monthly check-ins;
• Commit to monthly mentorship meetings;
• Optional: Tailored for participants without full-time commitments, selected participants will be placed into a paid internship for 3-6 months with a BI grantee or partner organization;
• Submit a final brief report at the end of the program detailing how they have applied/anticipate applying the skills gained in Ascend.

APPLICATION ELEMENTS

The time commitment is substantial and successful applicants are expected to complete all aspects of the curriculum on time. Interested applicants must submit:

1. A statement of interest (1,500 words maximum) containing the following four sections/headings:
   1. Why I am well-suited for Ascend 2024;
   2. Why I am interested in tobacco control;
   3. What I expect to gain with this program;
   4. and What I see myself doing professionally in 5-10 years.
2. A résumé (3 pages maximum) documenting your education, employment history and current position and responsibilities.
3. Two letters of reference (500 words maximum each) from someone in your professional/advocacy/academic circle demonstrating your potential as a future leader. The letter should address the following at a minimum:
   1. In what capacity the author knows the applicant.
   2. Specific examples to support the claims made about the candidate.

SELECTION CRITERIA

After an initial review of applications by the BSPH selection committee, promising applicants will be short-listed and interviewed. Successful applicants must:

1. Be between 18 and 30 years of age by the start of the program (April 1, 2024; applicants turning 31 during the program may still apply).
2. Be a citizen and live in one of the Bloomberg Initiative’s ten priority countries (Bangladesh, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Pakistan, the Philippines, Ukraine, and Vietnam) for the entire duration of the program; promising candidates from other LMICs (as defined by the World Bank) may be considered.
3. Have a public health, public policy, international relations, environmental health, medicine, nursing, pharmacy or economics background (professionally, academically or through volunteer work).
4. Commit to a 9-month, part-time program (April-December 2024), including online training and mentorship, an in-person program (one-week duration), and an optional internship. We expect to hold quarterly meetings in the second year of the program.
5. Be proficient in written and spoken English.