How do you turn innovative academic research into real-world interventions and policies that generate social impact and well-being?
Columbia World Projects was created to answer that question, by helping faculty, researchers, students and rising leaders bridge scholarship and practice to make a tangible difference in society. These programs seek to broaden our understanding of possible solutions through research and in-the-field experience that can test ideas developed both within the university and with external partners.
A Hub for Social Impact
Columbia World Projects supports connections between the Columbia community and social impact practitioners and policymakers around the globe to achieve concrete change benefiting humanity. More than a think tank, we are a get-it-done tank, working to create positive change both in the world at large and within Columbia.
Columbia World Projects is a vital part of Columbia Global's mission to turn thinking into doing, and it sets itself apart from similar institutions by developing new ideas in tandem with doers beyond the campus. Our projects allow university scholars to test their solutions to complex problems, while also feeding research and generating new approaches.
Our work addresses four key themes: supporting generations, renewing democracy, building inclusive cities, and enabling thriving communities.
“Establishing Columbia World Projects was centered on this goal of directing the vast academic resources of the University, on a broad scale, toward work that addresses global complexities… [To be] a central platform for advancing scholarly work and action.”
- Wafaa El-Sadr, Executive Vice President, Columbia Global
Columbia News, March 10, 2023
Programs that Generate Change and Learning
Columbia World Projects is a university-wide initiative supporting interdisciplinary projects that are designed to:
- Test new answers to long-standing issues, from wastewater management to building climate resilience, as faculty and researchers work with external partners on both local and national levels (Active Projects)
- Gather scholars across disciplines to work with practitioners on pressing global and local challenges (Research and Engagement)
- Teach students how to engage in and lead on global challenges, and show them how they can pursue social impact initiatives and careers (Social Impact Fellowship)
- Train and support highly motivated early-career faculty in deepening their expertise in applied research for social impact (Early Career Faculty Impact Fellowship)
- Rethink the nature of political economy, including how it determines the distribution of wealth (Center for Political Economy)
- Invest in the next generation of social impact leaders by through programs that bring together academic, skills-based and experiential learning (Obama Foundation Scholars)
- Advance the future of displaced students by providing the support they need to join the Columbia community (Scholarship for Displaced Students)
Columbia Global
Columbia World Projects’ programs are part of a growing portfolio of initiatives under Columbia Global that support students, researchers, scholars and practitioners who are raising the visibility of and addressing critical global problems. Columbia Global provides an enabling environment to explore, interrogate, and take action on complex societal challenges through: grant initiatives that support innovative social impact projects; fellowship programs that provide a home for displaced students, artists, and writers; and internships, practicums and capstone projects that provide hands-on experience working on real-world problems.