This grant was extremely helpful in allowing me to conduct field research. It was the only funding I secured and was therefore vital. This summer was one which hopefully will never be repeated—due to the pandemic, all research was postponed indefinitely. Luckily, I was already living in Siem Reap and because of our lack of community transmission, I was finally able to conduct fieldwork in October that had initially been planned for June and July. CKS staff did their best to communicate about the ongoing concerns, delays in funding approval, and conditions on the ground. Natharoun was particularly helpful in communicating about my rather unique situation to both the U.S donors and to me.

I would like to thank CKS for providing this research grant that plays a very important role for my PhD dissertation. With this grant, needed research materials, particularly Automated Weather Stations (AWS), were bought to collect weather data with high accuracy and quality for this research study and other studies in the future. I am so happy and very satisfied with the support from CKS. I think that this grant from CKS for young researchers in Cambodia is a great way to encourage sustainable development research in the present and in the future.

CKS is certainly the most important institution offering fellowships for young researchers in the social sciences in Cambodia. I benefited twice from CKS fellowships: first as a PhD candidate in 2016, and then as a postdoctoral fellow in 2020. CKS also provides other supports that were,and still are, highly valuable for research, notably its library in Wat Damnak. Despite the hardships of the COVID situation, CKS demonstrated an impressive adaptation, which allowed me to present for the first time via a widely broadcasted webinar. The management of the technical team for this brand-new exercise was perfect and opened a new way to make conferences and to share knowledge within Khmer Studies.

CKS grants play very crucial roles in my research in the context of my post-graduate pathway and professional career. It is helpful to increase the local capacity to build more networking and research on Khmer studies and cultural studies. It also provides more room and space for local junior researchers to explore and provide a greater variety of perspectives on different ways of looking at specific fields of study. CKS grants are very important to promote more attention and value on the social sciences and humanities, to build greater research competencies, and to push the frontier of scholarship.

I am very grateful for the opportunity provided to me through CKS’ assistance. Conducting research in Cambodia can be somewhat complicated due to the bureaucratic framework and language barriers. The CKS administrative staff are well connected with relevant authorities within the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts and agencies which care for historical remains. Moreover, the CKS team members are all kind and friendly, and I always felt comfortable seeking their assistance with any matter or just dropping by to say hello when I was in Siem Reap. Not only did my experience with CKS help facilitate my fieldwork surveys in the region, it was also a positive collaboration with the Department of Southeast Asian Studies, National University of Singapore, where I am enrolled as a doctoral candidate.

The senior fellow program is a great program that provides opportunities for young researchers to conduct their research in either Cambodia or ASEAN countries. Specifically, the program has not only funded me to conduct my research in Phnom Penh, but it also has provided me chances to learn new things from other fellows and experts as well as to participate in important activities. Academically, this program has helped me complete my academic research successfully and at least two research papers have been published in top tier international journals. In addition, the CKS director Mr. Natharoun Ngo and other staff are very friendly and helpful. Thank you to CKS for providing me such a great opportunity and support.

The funds and support that CKS provided me enabled me to conduct thorough ethnographic research in Cambodia. Without the funding provided by CKS, my research would not have been as easily facilitated. I truly appreciate the excellent communication CKS provides its fellows; whenever I had a question or needed help with something, the CKS staff responded in a very timely manner and were very friendly and helpful. I am also grateful for the amazing spaces CKS provides to its fellows and locals; the CKS center at Wat Damnak is not only beautiful, but very useful for research purposes.

CKS provides vital support to researchers in Cambodia, and it was an honor to be affiliated with the center during my time in Cambodia! During my research period, I used the library in Siem Reap extensively, and always appreciated the resources and helpful staff. I love that CKS gives scholars an opportunity to present their research in a format that is broadly accessible to the community. Doing fieldwork in a foreign country can be an isolating experience, and I really appreciated the opportunities for networking and collaboration afforded by my connection to CKS. Thank you for all that you do!

I am delighted to have been selected for the CKS Senior Fellowship Program and I am very grateful for the generous support. The fellowship made it possible for me to collect empirical data, which provided the necessary empirical framework for my doctoral dissertation research.