Commonwealth Professional Fellowships for Developing Commonwealth Countries in UK, 2015

Commonwealth Professional Fellowships provide an opportunity for mid-career professionals from developing Commonwealth countries to spend a period of time with a UK host organization working in their field for a program of professional development. The duration of the fellowships between one and three months this may be extended up to a maximum of six months. Programmes must have demonstrable development impact in the Fellow’s home country and the Fellow must be able to show how the knowledge and skills they will gain during the Fellowship will be disseminated after their return home. The closing date for applications for 2015 (Round 3) Commonwealth Professional Fellowships is 14 September 2015.

Study Subject(s): Applications are encouraged from a wide range of professional, charitable, public, and private sector organisations based in the UK. Priority will be given to applications with practical relevance in the following broadly-defined areas: Agriculture/fisheries/forestry, Economic growth, Education, Engineering/science/technology, Environment, Governance and Public health.
Course Level: Fellowships support mid-career professionals to spend a period of time with a UK host organization working in their field for a program of professional development.
Scholarship Provider: Commonwealth Scholarships Commission (CSC), UK
Scholarship can be taken at: UK
Accreditation: The plan was originally proposed by Canadian statesman Sidney Earle Smith in a speech in Montreal on 1 September 1958 and was established in 1959, at the first Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers (CCEM) held in Oxford, Great Britain. Since then, over 25,000 individuals have held awards, hosted by over twenty countries. The CSFP is one of the primary mechanisms of pan-Commonwealth exchange.

Eligibility: To be eligible for a Commonwealth Professional Fellowship, candidates should:
-Be Commonwealth citizens, refugees or British protected persons
-Be permanently resident in a developing Commonwealth country
-Normally have at least five years’ relevant work experience in a profession related to the subject of the application, by the proposed start of the Fellowship.
-Be available to start their Fellowship within prescribed dates as stated on the CSC website
-Not have undertaken a Commonwealth Professional Fellowship in the last five years
-Not be seeking to undertake an academic programme of research or study in the UK. Academics are eligible to apply for the scheme, but only to undertake programmes of academic management, not research or courses relevant to their research subject
-The CSC is keen to promote equal opportunity, gender equity, and cultural exchange. Applications are encouraged from a diverse range of candidates.

Scholarship Open for Students of Following Countries: Fellows must be from eligible Commonwealth countries (Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Botswana, British Virgin Islands, Cameroon, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Falkland Islands, Fiji, Ghana, Gibraltar, Grenada, Guyana, India, Jamaica, Kenya, Kiribati, Lesotho, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritius, Montserrat, Mozambique, Namibia, Nauru, Nigeria, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Pitcairn Islands, Rwanda, St Helena, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and The Grenadines, Samoa, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Swaziland, Tanzania, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tristan da Cunha, Turks and Caicos, Islands, Tuvalu, Uganda, Vanuatu, Zambia and Zimbabwe).

Scholarship Description: Commonwealth Professional Fellowships support mid-career professionals from developing Commonwealth countries to spend a period of time with a UK host organization working in their field for a program of professional development. Fellowships are typically about three months but can be between one and six months in length and can include limited time for attendance at short courses or conferences, as well as visits to other organizations. Programs must have a demonstrable development impact in the Fellow’s home country and the Fellow must be able to show how the knowledge and skills they will gain during the Fellowship will be disseminated after their return home.

Number of award(s): Not Known

Duration of award(s): Fellowships should normally be between one and three month’s duration, although applications for longer periods (up to a maximum of six months) will be considered, but only when a strong case for the additional time has been made. The duration of the Fellowship should, however, be long enough to allow for serious development of professional skills, so the CSC will not be able to consider applications for awards of less than one month.

What does it cover? Each Commonwealth Professional Fellowship provides:
-A return economy airfare from the Fellow’s home country to the UK
-A monthly (or pro rata) living allowance for the duration of the Fellowship at the rate of £1,563 per month (£1,938 per month for those based in the London Metropolitan area) – rates quoted at 2014-2015 levels. Exceptionally, depending on the programme arranged, a peripatetic living allowance may be payable. Further details if applicable will be given at the time of offer
-An arrival allowance of up to £878.17 at current rates, including an element for warm clothing and reimbursement of the visa application fee
-A fixed amount for excess baggage for return travel only, dependent on the airport destination. The Fellow will be advised of the amount close to the date of departure
-A flat rate contribution of £800 to the costs of the host/ nominating organisation, in respect of the administration and support of the Fellow, setting up of appropriate meetings, and any materials required, as well as costs of incidental travel for the Fellow during the award -Fees for any conferences or short courses attended during the period of the Fellowship, providing that these are approved as part of the original application. Reasonable fees up to a maximum of £3,000 will be agreed in the context of the length of the programme, but full justification should be given for the amount being claimed. The cost of travel for visits to other organisations in the UK, where these form an integral part of the programme, should also be included in the application
-Other fees, for which the CSC will consider requests on a case-by-case basis.When planning an application, host/nominating organisations should bear in mind the following restrictions: Induction/evaluation programmes must be in scale with the programme. (Modest fees including catering, room hire, and facilitator hire for such programmes may be agreed; however, fees for facilitators for evaluation programmes will not be approved, Additional accommodation costs may be recovered from the Fellow’s stipend, Requests for funds for cultural events, mobile phones, laptop computer hire, professional association memberships, costs associated with visits outside the UK, and contingencies will not be approved)

Selection Criteria: 2015 applications for Commonwealth Professional Fellowships will be judged on the following criteria:
-The extent to which the proposed Fellowship will ensure the transfer of skills relevant to the needs of a Commonwealth developing country
-The extent to which those skills will lead to practical benefits for the developing country following the Fellowship
-The extent to which the Fellowship will have a catalytic effect, either within the developing country concerned, or in establishing new relationships with the UK

Notification: Not Known

How to Apply: Prospective Professional Fellows who are nominated by a UK organisation will be asked to complete the Electronic Application System (EAS). The first section of the form should be completed by a representative of the host/nominating organisation; the second section of the form should then be completed by the prospective Fellow(s). If an organisation is nominating Fellows for another organisation to host, the nominating organisation (making the application) is responsible for securing a signed statement from the host organisation, indicating its agreement to the arrangements proposed and the formation of a detailed programme of activities from the outset, to include with the application. Two references must be submitted for each Fellow; the selection committee will not consider applications without references. The CSC cannot accept applications directly from individual candidates and these will not be acknowledged.

Scholarship Application Deadline: The closing date for applications for 2015 (Round 3) Commonwealth Professional Fellowships is 14 September 2015. Candidates should liaise with their nominating organisation well in advance of this date to agree a deadline to complete the EAS, so that the organisation can submit the full application by the closing date.

Further Official Scholarship Information and Application

Read more: Commonwealth Professional Fellowships in UK, 2015 Scholarship Positions 2015 2016
http://scholarship-positions.com