Commonwealth Academic Fellowships for Mid-Career Academics in UK, 2015

Scholarships: Applications are invited for Commonwealth academic fellowships available for mid-career academics from developing Commonwealth countries. These fellowships enable fellows to spend three months to network and update knowledge and skills related to their academic subject and responsibilities at any approved UK university or higher education institution. The CSC also invites alumni who held Commonwealth Scholarships for PhD to apply directly to the CSC for a Commonwealth Academic Fellowship. All eligible alumni will be sent a letter with details of how to apply. All applications must be made through your nominating university/university body in applicants’ home country. The deadline for applications is 3 December 2014.

Study Subject(s): The purpose of the Academic Fellowships is to provide an opportunity for Fellows to network and update knowledge and skills related to their academic subject and responsibilities.
Course Level: Fellowships are awarded for mid-career academics to spend three months undertaking research and updating their skills at any approved UK university or higher education institution.
Scholarship Provider: UK Department for International Development (DFID)
Scholarship can be taken at: UK

Eligibility: To apply for a Commonwealth Academic Fellowship, candidates should:
-Be Commonwealth citizens, refugees, or British protected persons
-Be permanently resident in a developing Commonwealth country
-Be available to commence their Fellowship in the United Kingdom on 1 October 2015. Any other start date will only be permitted in exceptional circumstances
-Have been employed for at least five years as an academic staff member of a university in a developing Commonwealth country
-Be in the employment of the nominating university
-Hold a doctorate
-For awards to enhance clinical skills in the fields of medicine and dentistry, have qualified as a doctor or dentist before 1 October 2015.

Scholarship Open for Students of Following Countries: Citizens of developing Commonwealth country (Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Botswana, Cameroon, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Falkland Islands, Gambia, Ghana, Gibraltar, Grenada, Guyana, India, Jamaica, Kenya, Kiribati, Lesotho, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritius, Montserrat, Mozambique, Namibia, Nauru, Nigeria, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, 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, Turks and Caicos Islands, Tuvalu, Uganda, Vanuatu, Virgin Islands (British) and Zambia) can apply for these Commonwealth Academic Fellowships.

Scholarship Description: Commonwealth Academic Fellowships are offered to early career academics from developing Commonwealth countries, to enable them to spend between three and ten months undertaking research and updating their skills at a UK university. These fellowships are funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID). The purpose of Commonwealth Academic Fellowships is to provide an opportunity for Fellows to undertake a period of research, network, and update knowledge and skills related to their academic subject and responsibilities. Awards are tenable at any approved UK university or higher education institution, for between three and ten months. Justification must be given within the application for the length of award requested. All applications require an email or letter of support from an academic at the proposed host university in the UK. Any application without such support will be deemed ineligible.

Duration of award(s): Awards are tenable at any approved UK university or higher education institution, for between three and ten months. Justification must be given within the application for the length of award requested.

What does it cover? Each Fellowship provides:
– Approved airfare to the United Kingdom and return on expiry of the Fellowship (the cost of journeys made before final award confirmation will not normally be reimbursed, nor can fares be paid for a Fellow’s dependant)
– A research support grant fixed according to subject
-A personal maintenance allowance at the rate of £1,467 per month (£1,819 per month for those studying at institutions in the London Metropolitan area) – rates quoted at 2014-2015 levels
-A grant towards the expenses of preparing reports and other written work
-An initial arrival allowance, incorporating an initial clothing grant for Fellows from tropical countries
-A grant for expenses for approved travel within the United Kingdom or overseas
-Candidates should note that there is no spouse or child allowance available. A Fellow who is widowed, divorced or a lone parent and accompanied by children for whom she/he is solely legally responsible will receive an allowance in respect of the first accompanying child and child allowances for the second and third accompanying children. The level of financial support given towards the costs of family maintenance in the UK is under review and is subject to change in terms of both eligibility and rate availability

Selection Criteria: Applications are considered according to the following selection criteria:
-Academic merit of the candidate
-The quality of the proposal
-The likely impact of the work on the development of the candidate’s home country

Notification: Candidates will be notified of their provisional selection by the Commission that is selection of the award subject to the Commission agreeing the terms of admission to the university/institution. Candidates will be given a formal Notification of Award, the offer of a Fellowship, as soon as terms of admission to the university/ institution have been agreed.

How to Apply: There are two routes for application:
-Direct applications (CSC PhD alumni only) for Commonwealth Academic Fellowships may be made by alumni who meet the eligibility criteria set out in this prospectus.
-Nominations for Commonwealth Academic Fellowships may be made by invitation through the Executive Head of an eligible university on the staff of which the applicant serves. A full list of universities invited to nominate can be found on the CSC website. Those wishing to be considered for inclusion in the list of institutions invited should contact the Executive Secretary of the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission.
Applications must be submitted using the Commission’s Electronic Application System (EAS). Except for direct applications from alumni, applications must be submitted to an approved nominating body as detailed above. All applications must be endorsed by the applicant’s employing Vice-Chancellor or Executive Head. Please note that all Fellowship candidates must submit their application using the EAS by 3 December 2014.

Scholarship Application Deadline: The deadline for applications is 3 December 2014.

Further Official Scholarship Information and Application