Shunya Fellowship, 2026 cohort

Welcome.
A few things before we begin.

This should take about ten minutes. We'll ask about the weekly pod, which part of December you can join us in India, and a few practical things. If you haven't yet, please read the year ahead first, since the questions below assume you have. And if you're not sure about something, just tell us that.

Fellows in an embrace around the peace pole in Ahmedabad
At the peace pole in Ahmedabad, last winter.
The podSundays in October and November IndiaOne core week in December, highly recommended BuildingA monthly call, January to September
You

Your name and email

1. The pod, October and November

Ten hours a week, and one call together

Through October and November we ask for about ten hours a week: reading, trying things, working on your own project. The one fixed thing is a 90-minute call with the whole cohort each week.

Can you give about ten hours a week through October and November, and be on the weekly call? *
The call is on Sundays, 9:30 AM Eastern · 6:30 AM Pacific, October 4 to November 22.
OctoberNovember
Pacific6:30 AM6:30 AM
Eastern9:30 AM9:30 AM
UK2:30 PM2:30 PM
Central Europe3:30 PM3:30 PM
India7:00 PM8:00 PM
Japan10:30 PM11:30 PM

The call is set in US time, so it shifts by an hour elsewhere when clocks change. In the UK and Europe, October 25 is an hour earlier than shown. The Google Calendar link below takes care of all of this and shows each call in your own time. Calendar invites for everyone follow once forms are in.

Add to Google Calendar
This is the best fit we've found across the time zones our cohort spans, and the whole cohort meets together, so the time itself will stay as it is. If particular Sundays won't work for you, please tell us now.
2. India, December

Which part of December can you join?

There's one core week we highly recommend, with all the Shunya fellows together as a cohort. Before and after it, the Moved By Love community hosting us is running an extraordinary month-long immersion, and we encourage you to join us for as much of it as you can manage. Once you land, where you stay, what you eat, and how you get between cities will all be well taken care of.

The core week: December 7 to 14, Ahmedabad then Surat Please land in Ahmedabad by noon on the 7th. We spend that afternoon at Gandhi's ashram, and take the train to Surat the next morning. December 8 to 10 is a three-day retreat with just our cohort; the 11th to 13th are quieter days for your project, with a closing circle on the evening of the 13th. The 14th is a rest day. It's the heart of the fellowship's December, and we highly recommend it. If it can't work for you, please still send this form and tell us in the notes; we'll figure something out together.
Before and after that week, what else can you join? Check as many as you like. The two after our week happen one after another, so if you check a later one we'll assume you're joining the ones before it too, unless you tell us otherwise in the notes.
  • Dec 3–6arrive by Dec 2
  • Dec 14–23
  • Dec 24–27depart Dec 28
Rough is fine, something like "arrive Ahmedabad Dec 7, fly out of Mumbai Dec 15." Leave it blank if you don't know yet. If you're leaving after the core week, Surat has domestic flights, and Mumbai is about four hours away by train.
Family, work, a visa, someone else's schedule. Whatever might still change your dates. It helps us a lot to know now rather than in November.
Flights Once you're in India, everything is taken care of: where you stay, what you eat, getting between cities. Flights are the one cost we ask you to think about. If you're able to cover your own, that helps us stretch what we have. If not, we're happy to cover an economy fare. Just check the box and we'll sort it out with you.
3. January to September 2027

Building your project, with a monthly call

After December, the cohort keeps meeting once a month while everyone works on their projects. At the end of the year we sit down together, you and the hosts, and reflect on how it went. That conversation is the one thing we hold each other to.

Will you join the monthly calls from January to September? *
A sentence or two is plenty. Has it changed since you applied? A rough idea is fine. We'll work on it together in the pod.
What you're hoping for

A little about what you're hoping for

Which two of these matter most to you right now? All five are part of the fellowship. This just helps us plan the pod around the people in it.
On the AI side, what would you like to learn? Check any that appeal. You don't need any experience with them.
Last few things

Anything else we should know?

Food needs, for instance. Meals are simple, home-cooked and vegetarian, and vegan or gluten-free is easy if we know ahead. Or a family member you'd like to bring for part of the time, a health matter, a visa question. Anything you'd like us to know.
Two things to confirm *

One of us will write back within a few days to set up a short call.

Got it. Thank you.

One of us will write within a few days to set up a short call. Once your December dates are settled, we'll send a separate link for flight details and the visa letter. Nothing more to do until then. Welcome.