Fellowships: We’re Seeking Open Internet Engineers
In countries with low internet penetration, one of the chief causes is often a lack of experienced network engineers. Without network engineering expertise, residents cannot build critical infrastructure.
Today, Mozilla is expanding its Fellowship program with a new track, focusing on core internet infrastructure in the Global South. We’re seeking Fellows for open internet engineering: developers who can help bring the unconnected — roughly four billion users in the Global South and remote locations — online.
These Fellowships are made possible by a collaboration between Mozilla, the Internet Society, and the Network Startup Resource Center. We’re investing $500,000 in the project — and seeking additional funding partners to expand the impact in the years to come. Apply
(In March, Mozilla opened applications for our other Fellowship tracks, for open web activists, policy experts, and scientists.)
This Fellowship track will support individuals with deep engineering experience who want to lead the buildout of a transformative infrastructure project in their community. These fellows might build Internet Exchange Points that increase network efficiency; connect unconnected schools or community centers; or spearhead the construction of national data centers. Fellows will work in concert with local government, community anchor institutions, and other technologists, and will leverage open standards and software. Fellows will receive a stipend during their 12-month fellowship, as well as mentorship from host organizations like the Internet Society and the Network Startup Resource Center. Fellows will also receive mentorship from Mozilla staff.
Applicants should be early- to mid-career technologists based in a country with low internet penetration. Deadlines: May 30 at 12pm PDT for the LOI, and June 10 at 12pm PDT for the full application.
(Note: The above deadlines represent the latest extension.)
Connecting the unconnected has always been a core part of Mozilla’s work. The Mozilla Manifesto, our guiding doctrine, states, “We are committed to an internet that includes all the peoples of the earth — where a person’s demographic characteristics do not determine their online access, opportunities, or quality of experience.” In recent years, Mozilla has run challenges to support connectivity in rural areas and disaster-stricken regions. We’ve also conducted research around connectivity, and supported past Fellows working on accessibility.
This Fellowship is about more than individual projects; it’s about building the next generation of open internet engineers, who can bring connectivity and introduce open-source principles to their communities. We hope that the OIE fellowship will help network engineers grow their stature as leaders in their region.
