Tianxia Fellowship Programme Details
(天下学者计划)
About the Fellowship
Humanity might be facing ever more complex and high-stakes problems. It does not seem that any country can solve them on their own. “Tianxia (天下) ”, an ancient Chinese concept modernised by contemporary philosophers , embodies the idea of a universal civilisational order for all humanity. In such an order, multiple civilisations seek dialogue and the achievement of shared commonality through equal interactions. We resonate with the modern interpretation of the term and believe that international cooperation is crucial to making long-term progress on the challenges we all face.
To further the goals of our organisation, the Fellowship aims to cultivate leaders dedicated to affecting the long-term future through “macrostrategy-driven work”. This type of work is grounded on a robust understanding of macrostrategic considerations such as which technologies are most likely to be transformative at a timescale of decades and what the largest levers in the world are for affecting these. During the programme, fellows are expected to gain knowledge about China, AI safety, global catastrophic biological risks, and risks from great power conflicts, by visiting relevant organisations and engaging with prominent thinkers in the fields. After programme completion, fellows may continue to have access to mentorship and opportunities for collaboration.
To increase the chances of making a long-term difference on any single problem, it is important to have an understanding of many cause areas and crucial considerations. For example, the timelines of global catastrophic biological risks and great power conflicts could be relevant to making progress on AI safety. We therefore welcome applications from people who would like to gain robust coverage of various pressing causes while zeroing in on a focus area.