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ISOC Fellowship to the IETF

How to Apply

Expectations for Fellows

In order to get the most out of the IETF experience and to help ISOC achieve the goals of the program, ISOC Fellows are expected to:

Prepare in advance of the IETF meeting.

Preparation is important to having a good IETF experience. You should at least read the Tao of the IETF, IETF Working Group documents relevant to your area of interest, be subscribed to and follow appropriate Working Group mailing list discussions, and review other material suggested by your mentor. The earlier you start, the better.

Mr. Subramanian Moonesamy, an IETF 70 Vancouver alumnus provides some helpful advice for newcomers to the IETF (PDF: 24KB) in Making the Most of an IETF Meeting.

Prospective and selected fellows are also encouraged to read the following documents about the IETF:

• RFC 2026: The Internet Standards Process
• RFC 3935: A Mission Statement for the IETF
• RFC 1958: Architectural Principles of the Internet
• RFC 2418: IETF Working Group Guidelines and Procedures
• The IETF Journals also give a good overview of past IETF Meetings
• As preparation for attending an IETF Meeting, the following articles might be especially useful: What Makes For a Successful Protocol? as well as interviews and reports by past IETF fellows:
• ISOC Fellows Attend IETF 73
• IETF 72 Welcomes ISOC Fellows
• ISOC Fellows Come to Philadelphia for IETF 71
• Interview with ISOC Fellow Vincent Ngundi: At Home at the IETF
• Fellows Motivated to Become more Involved
• An Interview with ISOC Fellow Subramanian Moonesamy

Help ISOC with the administrative components of your Fellowship.

If you are selected for the program, we will send you an e-mail outlining the steps that need to be taken in order to get you to the meeting.

You will be responsible for:

• Applying for and obtaining a visa to enter the country where the meeting is to take place, as well as transit visa(s), if necessary.
• Making sure that your passport expires no earlier than six months and one day after the last day of the IETF meeting.
• Suggesting appropriate flights to get you to and from the meeting.

Please also note that the Fellowship only supports travel itineraries that get Fellows to and from the meeting on dates reasonably close to the actual meeting. Fellows should not plan on incorporating extra time for personal or business trips into their travel.

For full-time students only: Bring your student ID card with you to the meeting.

For students residing in a country other than their native country:
Confirm that your student visa in the country where you currently reside (and will be residing immediately prior to and after the IETF meeting) expires no earlier than a reasonable time after the end of the IETF meeting (varies by country and will be determined by the embassy or consular officer).

We ask that you respond promptly to our emails. Also it is very important that you let us know as soon as possible if for any reason you think that you won't be able to attend the IETF meeting.

Attend the IETF Newcomers Training on the first day of the IETF, in addition to the IETF plenary sessions and relevant Working Group meetings.

The IETF Newcomers Training will help orient you on the history, working methods, and culture of the IETF. Your attendance at this training is important, as it will help you through the rest of the week's sessions. Of course, you are also expected to attend the IETF's working sessions throughout the week while you are attending on the Fellowship.

Complete a Fellowship evaluation report after the meeting.

In order to help us improve the program, we will request that you fill out a short report on your experience at the IETF as an ISOC Fellow. We will provide you with the URL of an online evaluation report to be completed within two weeks of attending the meeting.

Share the experience and knowledge you gain at the IETF with your local technical community.

An important part of the program is for Fellows to share the knowledge they gained at the IETF with others in their local area or region. This can be done, for example, by making a presentation at a relevant professional, academic, or technical meeting, speaking at an association meeting or local ISOC chapter event, writing an article for a relevant local publication, and so on. Reporting guidelines and examples will be provided to each Fellow at the time of award announcement. In the past, successful applicants to the Fellowship have provided clear plans for this Post-IETF Project of the fellowship, including deadlines and dates (if applicable). We ask that you provide verification of your IETF information-sharing activities within six months of attending the meeting. An ISOC staff member will follow up with each Fellow prior to the six month deadline to answer questions and encourage community engagement. Please note that Post-IETF reports will be posted on the ISOC website to highlight fellows’ achievements. This is operated under an "opt-out" Policy, so please let us know if this is not something you support.

Participate in the ISOC Fellowship Alumni Network.

As part of the program, we will include you on an ISOC Fellowship Alumni mailing list. This will give you the opportunity to network with other Fellows from around the world. It will also provide us an opportunity to keep in contact with you after the meeting and inform you of training opportunities and other events organised by ISOC. We will also list your name, affiliation, position and country on our ISOC Fellowship Alumni page. This is operated under an "opt-out" Policy, so please let us know if this is not something you support.