We are delighted to announce that MIP Politecnico di Milano student Antonio Russo has been awarded a place on the prestigious Schmidt MacArthur Fellowship, a year-long international programme on the circular economy for postgraduates studying Design, Engineering and Business.
“Circular economy is the world pure breath, – says Antonio Russo, International Part Time MBA current student – it can become a high philosophical principle applied to business, the eternal recurrence creating profit. I am excited to have the chance to share this idea during the one year lasting Schmidt MacArthur Fellowship, in an international network that will give me the chance to work on a subject which can potentially revolutionize  the way companies think about business. I would also like to thank MIP Politecnico di Milano because it has made me open my eyes on such an incredible opportunity!”
This year 18 students and their mentors will take part in the programme: 14 from Schmidt MacArthur Fellowship Partner Universities, two from the Pioneer University programme (University College London and Rochester Institute of Technology) and two Wildcard winners, one from Nottingham Trent University and one from Strathclyde University, UK.
Students at Schmidt MacArthur Fellowship Partner Universities apply to win a place by submitting a 90 second film. The film addresses two questions on the circular economy and is assessed on the student’s passion, creativity, inquisitiveness and understanding of the circular economy. Additionally through the Wildcard competition two students from any other university in the world are offered the opportunity to win a place on the Fellowship.
Now in its fourth year, the Fellowship includes a week long summer school in the UK, an online support programme and a cash bursary, as well as the opportunity to link with the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s wider activities and networks. The programme will commence in April 2016.
2016 Schmidt MacArthur Fellowship Students
Antonio Russo – MIP Politecnico di Milano
Bhaskarjyoti Das – National Institute of Design, India
Cheng Hu – Tongji University
Efren Chavez Ochoa – Tecnológico de Monterrey
Elena Khishchenko – Imperial College London
Grace Kane – Delft University of Technology
Jack Bo Chung – University of California Berkeley
Joshua Macabuag – University College London
Lijin Chin – Cranfield University
Naga Srujana Goteti – Rochester Institute of Technology
Peter Lowe – Stanford University
Priyanka Chatterjee – Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Serena Pozza – Yale University
Terence Steinberg – London Business School
Tolu Odusanya – Royal College of Art
Yun Law-Koun – KEDGE Business School
Jack Barrie — University of Strathclyde – Wildcard winner
The Schmidt MacArthur Fellowship, launched in 2013, is an international programme for postgraduate students and their academic mentors from design, engineering and business on the circular economy. The Fellowship is open to postgraduate students from a global network of fourteen Partner Universities including: Imperial College London, Cranfield University, London Business School and the Royal College of Art in the UK, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Yale University, University of California Berkeley and Stanford University in the United States, Kedge Business School, Delft University of Technology and MIP Politecnico di Milano in Continental Europe, Tecnologico de Monterrey in Mexico, Tongji University in China and India’s National Institute of Design. Every year we run a Wildcard competition to identify one or two exceptional students from any other university in the world to join the programme. The Fellowship is created by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation (www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org) in partnership with the Schmidt Family Foundation (www.theschmidt.org). For more information please visit www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/programmes/education/schmidt-macarthur-fellowship
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation was created in 2010 to accelerate the transition to a circular economy. The Foundation’s work focuses on four areas: insight and analysis, business and government, education and training, and communication. With its Knowledge Partner, McKinsey & Company, the Foundation works to quantify the economic potential of the circular model and todevelop approaches for capturing this value. The Foundation collaborates with its Global Partners (Cisco, Google, H&M, Intesa Sanpaolo, Kingfisher, Philips, Renault, Unilever), and its CE100 network (businesses, governments and cities), to develop circular business initiatives and build capacity. The Foundation is creating a global teaching and learning platform on the circular economy as well, encompassing work with leading universities, schools and colleges, and online events such as the Disruptive Innovation Festival.
Super proud of my brilliant classmate. Congrats Antonio!