A pathway for experienced practitioners to step back, study, and return
In Pune, on the occasion of India's Republic Day, Symbiosis International University opened a door long absent from South Asia: a fully funded fellowship for those who have already given years to the work of peace. The Rotary Peace Centre — the first of its kind in the region — is not designed for beginners, but for seasoned practitioners of conflict resolution and development who need space to deepen, not begin, their understanding. It is a quiet but consequential acknowledgment that expertise, like peace itself, requires sustained investment to endure.
- South Asia has long been absent from Rotary's global peace fellowship network — a gap that left experienced practitioners in the region without a funded pathway to advanced training.
- The fellowship removes a stubborn barrier: for mid-career professionals in under-resourced organisations, the cost of professional development has historically meant stagnation over growth.
- Up to 40 fellows will be selected annually through a competitive global process, with full coverage of tuition, living expenses, field study, and travel — a rare all-in commitment.
- The programme is structured around the conviction that peacebuilding cannot be learned in classrooms alone, weaving online intensives, 12 specialised modules, and domestic and international field visits into a single year.
- Applications for the 2027 cohort open February 1 and close May 15, 2026 — a narrow but now-open window for professionals aged 35 to 45 across Asia who have been waiting for exactly this moment.
On January 26, Pune became the home of something South Asia had never had before. Symbiosis International University inaugurated the region's first Rotary Peace Centre, a fully funded one-year fellowship aimed not at students, but at professionals already deep in the work of conflict resolution, public policy, and humanitarian change. The announcement was made quietly, at a news conference where university leadership and Rotary Foundation trustees described what amounts to a rare and substantial opening.
The fellowship covers everything — tuition, living expenses, field study, and travel — removing a barrier that has long kept talented mid-career practitioners from advancing their skills. Up to 40 fellows will be selected annually through a competitive global process, with the programme targeting professionals aged 35 to 45 working across Asia. Symbiosis principal director Vidya Yeravdekar emphasised that the centre offers international exposure and a global network without requiring practitioners to leave the regions they serve — a distinction that matters when professional advancement too often demands departure.
The curriculum is built for working professionals: a two-week online intensive followed by 12 specialised modules blending academic coursework with experiential field learning, culminating in both domestic and international visits. The underlying principle is that peacebuilding cannot be absorbed from textbooks alone.
Rotary already funds up to 170 fellowships annually across eight global centres, with 1,800 peace fellows currently active worldwide. But South Asia had no centre until now. Rotary Foundation trustee Bharat Pandya spoke of nurturing leaders who approach conflict with empathy, innovation, and practical solutions — suggesting the fellowship is as much about shaping how peacebuilders think as it is about what they know. Applications open February 1 and close May 15, 2026.
Pune woke to a new kind of opportunity on January 26. Symbiosis International University inaugurated South Asia's first Rotary Peace Centre—a fully funded fellowship programme designed for professionals who have already spent years in the trenches of conflict resolution, public policy, humanitarian work, and social change. The announcement came quietly, at a news conference where university leadership and Rotary Foundation trustees outlined what amounts to a rare opening: a pathway for experienced practitioners to step back, study, and return to their work with advanced training and a global network intact.
The fellowship itself is substantial. Up to 40 fellows will be selected each year through a competitive global process. The programme covers everything—tuition, living expenses, field study costs, travel. For mid-career professionals, many of whom come from under-resourced organisations or regions where funding for professional development is scarce, this removes a barrier that has long kept talented people in place rather than advancing their skills. The target is professionals aged 35 to 45, people with significant experience already behind them, working across Asia or within Asian communities.
Vidya Yeravdekar, principal director of Symbiosis, framed the centre's significance in terms of what it offers Indian professionals specifically: international exposure, advanced academic training, a global professional network—all without requiring them to leave the region they serve. That distinction matters. Too often, professional advancement means departure. This programme is designed to deepen expertise while keeping practitioners rooted in the contexts where they work.
The curriculum is built for working professionals. It begins with a two-week online intensive, then unfolds across 12 specialised modules combining classroom learning with experiential field work. The programme culminates in both domestic and international field visits, giving fellows hands-on exposure to conflict dynamics and development challenges in real settings. It is a one-year postgraduate diploma in peace and development studies, structured around the principle that peacebuilding cannot be learned from textbooks alone.
Rotary's global peace fellowship network is already substantial. The organisation awards up to 170 fully funded fellowships annually across eight centres worldwide. There are currently 1,800 peace fellows working globally—in United Nations agencies, as entrepreneurs, in various leadership roles. But until now, South Asia had no centre. Holger Knaack, trustee chair of the Rotary Foundation, and Bharat Pandya, a Rotary trustee, both emphasised that India's position as a study site is distinctive. The country's social diversity and complex development challenges make it an ideal learning laboratory for peacebuilding work. Pandya spoke of nurturing leaders who can approach conflict with empathy, innovation, and practical solutions—a statement that suggests the fellowship is not just about training, but about shaping how the next generation of peacebuilders thinks.
Applications for the 2027 intake open on February 1 and close on May 15, 2026. For mid-career professionals who have been waiting for an opportunity to advance their expertise without abandoning their work, the timing is now.
Notable Quotes
For Indian professionals, the centre represents a rare opportunity to gain international exposure, advanced academic training, and a global professional network while remaining rooted in the region they seek to serve.— Vidya Yeravdekar, principal director of Symbiosis
This centre will nurture leaders who can approach conflict with empathy, innovation, and practical solutions.— Bharat Pandya, Rotary Foundation trustee
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why does a fully funded fellowship matter so much for mid-career professionals? Aren't there other ways to get training?
Most professional development programmes assume you can step away from your job for a year, or that you have savings to cover tuition and living costs. For someone running a conflict resolution programme in a low-income region, neither is realistic. This fellowship removes that choice—you don't have to choose between staying in your work and advancing your skills.
So this is really about access, not just education.
Exactly. The funding is the door. But the design matters too. They're not asking people to leave their context and study in isolation. The field visits, the focus on Asia—it's built so you can learn globally while staying rooted in the work you actually do.
Why is India specifically positioned as a learning laboratory?
Because peacebuilding isn't abstract. India's social diversity, its development challenges, its history of managing conflict across communities—these are real laboratories. Fellows will study in a place where the stakes are visible, where the problems are not theoretical.
What happens after the fellowship ends?
That's the longer game. Rotary already has 1,800 peace fellows working globally in significant roles. The network itself becomes a resource. You're not just getting a diploma; you're joining a community of practitioners who understand this work from the inside.
Is there a risk that this becomes just another credential?
Only if the selection process fails. They're targeting experienced professionals aged 35 to 45—people with real track records. The rigorous global competition suggests they're serious about selecting people who will actually use this training to deepen their impact, not just add letters to their name.