NASSCOM Foundation and Head Held High Foundation, introduces an intensive eleven-month long fellowship programme, The Mettā Fellowship. Mettā fellows will be dynamic and committed individuals, with their core competencies being channelized for social transformation. The programme promises to enhance academic, grassroots and managerial experience for corporate employees, and widen their cross-sectoral strengths and functions, helping them with key skills to standout in their work and in life.

About Mettā Fellowship

Lack of direction and process management, have been plaguing the not-for-profit organizations of the country, thereby limiting their impact. Inability to afford skilled expertise in their organizations which is run on a shoestring budget, deprives the NGOs from transformational human resources. NASSCOM Foundation, the forerunner at tapping IT-BPM sector’s strengths towards social development, and Head Held High Foundation, champions of grass root impact, have jointly launched the ‘NASSCOM Foundation Head Held High Mettā Fellowship’ with the objective of connecting the dots for greater social impact.

Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai, the country’s leading social science institution will be the Academic Partner for the programme, curating the theoretical curriculum and conducting a community consciousness induction programme, refresher and review sessions, for the Mettā  fellows.

Mettā, derived from a Buddhist term, stands for benevolence, friendliness, amity, friendship, good will, kindness, close mental union (on same mental wavelength), and active interest in others.

Staying true to its name, The Mettā Fellowship offers a great opportunity for the corporate workforce to be one with the community and bring about effective and sustainable social change. In the process, the NGOs, they will be working with, would receive technical and managerial expertise for creating efficient processes helping them achieve scale and increase the impact of their good work.

In its first year of its operationalization, the program aims at onboarding 15 work experienced fellows who will be deployed in partner NGOs, for eleven months, with the task of establishing processes and building capacities of the not-for-profit space. The fellows who are able to successfully complete their stint will be felicitated with the title ‘Social Leaders Par Excellence’.

What’s in it for a Fellow ?

The Mettā Fellowship offers corporate leaders and managers the opportunity to gain cross-sectoral experience and hone their social leadership abilities. The programme will be an intensive experience of people management, problem solving, mobilizing for a cause and strategizing on unmet  challenges.

The affiliation to TISS Mumbai, a leading academic institution, will elevate the platform to a holistic learning experience, i.e. an eleven month long on-site assignment, beyond one’s comfort zone, backed by academic learnings.

Metta Fellows will be paid a monthly stipend over the duration of the program.

Who can be a Fellow ?

• Energetic and passionate individuals who want to contribute to society and learn at the same time.
• Minimum 5 years of work experience.
• Willing to make a commitment of 11 months.
• Possessing domain knowledge for his/her workstream.

Programme Flow & Timelines

The assigned NGOs, are plagued with issues of data mismanagement, lack of process, technological obscurity and so on. The onboarded fellows, coming from IT-BPM companies with their years of experience in IT, strategy, process management and communication expertise, will support in the capacity building and efficiency of the organizations.

1. Application and Selection Process (August 15^th to October 15^th, 2017)

Applications for the Metta Fellowship are open until October 15^th, 2017.

On receiving the application form, an Interview will be conducted. Based on your interest area, relevant Job descriptions and NGO profiles will be shared to finalize the placement and confirmation of acceptance into the program. 

1. Orientation: (December 4^th to December 10^th, 2017)

During the eleven months of The Mettā Fellowship, the fellows are assigned to partnering NGOs for the whole duration. Prior to this, the fellows undergo a week-long training and orientation programme at TISS Mumbai. The orientation consists of concept learnings, sensitization workshops and foundation courses on socio-economic conditions and demographies. Travel, Boarding and Lodging expenses for the orientation program in Mumbai will be borne by Head Held High and Nasscom Foundation.

1. Deployment: (January 10^th, 2018 to December 10^th, 2018)

The orientation is followed by an immersion session in the respective assigned NGOs. The primary responsibility of fellows is to engage closely with Not-For-Profits for better functioning, process development and capacity building. The fellowship will include monthly regional meets for information dissemination, a half yearly assessment and conclude with an End of fellowship experience workshop in TISS Mumbai, followed by feedback reporting and certification.

1. Beyond the Fellowship

On completion of the Fellowship program, our Fellows are certified and felicitated with the title ‘Social Leaders Par Excellence’. Fellows are enrolled in the Metta Fellowship Alumni network and also receive career guidance and opportunities to interview with our empanelled hiring partners across multiple sectors.