Educational Ambassador

To welcome new international members to the American Statistical Association and create a trust for cooperation, the Educational Ambassador Program was launched in 2005 to recruit a number of educational ambassadors from foreign countries. The program was developed to advance lasting collaboration between the ASA and other international statistical societies for permanent exchanges of knowledge.

Past EAs came from Brazil in 2024, Indonesia in 2023, Nepal and Mexico 2019, Pakistan and Thailand 2018, Namibia 2017, Nigeria 2016, Bangladesh 2015, Colombia 2014, Botswana 2012, Costa Rica 2010, Armenia 2009, Morocco 2008, Vietnam 2007, Ethiopia 2006, and Argentina 2005.

 

The American Statistical Association (ASA) Committee on International Relations in Statistics (CIRS) is seeking qualified nationals from countries with demonstrated need and benefit to the country to serve as the 2025 Educational Ambassador (EA). Although priority will be given to the applications received from the developing countries, applicants from other countries may be considered in exceptional cases or in the event of not having suitable candidates from the developing countries. Applications from countries not recently represented will receive preference.

The ASA will select one Educational Ambassador to attend the 2025 Joint Statistical Meetings and to take continuing education (CE) courses in emerging areas of research. The ambassador will then disseminate the subject matter related to at least one CE course in their home country and/or region.

The ASA will arrange and pay for the selected ambassador’s airfare, hotel, meeting registration, and CE courses registration. The ASA will reimburse the visa application fee and provide a $500 stipend. The Educational Ambassador will also receive complimentary ASA membership for a year.

The application deadline is December 15, 2024.

Qualifications

Candidates for the ambassadorship will hold a postgraduate degree (PhD preferred but not required) in biostatistics, statistics, or a related field and will typically be employed at a recognized university or research organization promoting the teaching and application of statistics. However, qualified candidates holding non-academic positions will be considered as well.

Selection Process

The Committee on International Relations in Statistics (CIRS) puts out a call for applications through various international channels. The CIRS members will serve as the selection committee.

The applicants are required to submit the following:

  • A curriculum vitae
  • A proposal (at most two pages) describing why the applicant should be selected for the award, how the ambassadorship will help disseminate knowledge of statistics in the applicant’s country and how the ASA’s expectations set forth above will be implemented upon the applicant’s return home.
  • A letter from the head of the academic unit (e.g., department chair, director, or dean) indicating institutional support for the applicant’s dissemination plan
  • One letter of recommendation

Activities

Selected ambassador will be expected to complete the following:

  • Attend the 2025 Joint Statistical Meetings (JSM) and take CE courses in emerging areas of statistics research.
  • Return to their home country and within the next year offer the equivalent of a one-semester master’s-level class with no fewer than 10 students on the subject matter of one of the CE courses with lecture notes in the language locally deemed most appropriate. Ambassadors are encouraged to repeat the offering at least once in person or through webinars. The CIRS understands there can be practical or organizational considerations that make this a challenging requirement and when requested we are prepared to work with the ambassadors to devise an appropriate plan.
  • Provide periodic updates and within one year of attending JSM submit a final report to the ASA through the CIRS. The report should describe how the transfer of knowledge on the subject matter of their CE courses was accomplished.

The Martha Aliaga Educational Ambassador Program Fund

Martha Aliaga

A fund in memory of Martha Aliaga, former ASA director of education who created the Educational Ambassador Program with the Committee on International Relations in Statistics, helps support this program. Martha was passionate about statistical education and international outreach. We remember and honor her extensive contributions to enhance statistics education globally with this program.