2021 Commonwealth Professional Fellowships for Mid-Career Professionals from Low and Middle-Income Countries

Deadline: August 9, 2021.

 All Commonwealth Professional Fellowships in the 2021/22 round are in the thematic area of Girls’ Education.

Commonwealth Professional Fellowships are for mid-career professionals from low- and middle-income countries to spend a period of time at a UK Host organisation working in their sector for a programme of professional development.

ELIGIBILITY

To be eligible for these fellowships, prospective Fellows must:

  • Be a citizen of or have been granted refugee status by an eligible Commonwealth country, or be a British Protected
  • Be permanently resident in an eligible Commonwealth country
  • Have at least five years’ full-time, or equivalent part-time, relevant work experience, in a profession related to the subject of the Fellowships programme, by the proposed start of the fellowship – voluntary work experience will not be counted towards this minimum
  • Be in employment at the time of application that they will return to upon completion of the fellowship
  • Provide at least two references, one of which must be from their current employer. Any applications for which references are not received by the reference closing date will be considered ineligible.
  • Not have undertaken a Commonwealth Professional Fellowship within the last five years (at the time of taking up the award)
  • Not be seeking to undertake an academic programme of research or study in the 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
  • Be available to start their fellowship within prescribed dates

ELIGIBLE COUNTRIES

Antigua and Barbuda, Bangladesh, Belize, Botswana, Cameroon, Dominica, Eswatini, Fiji, The Gambia, Ghana, Grenada,
Guyana, India, Jamaica, Kenya, Kiribati, Lesotho, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritius, Montserrat, Mozambique,
Namibia, Nauru, Nigeria, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea Rwanda, St Helena, St Lucia, St Vincent and The Grenadines, Samoa, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Tonga, Tuvalu, Uganda, Vanuatu and Zambia.

BENEFITS

Each fellowship provides:

  • Approved return airfare from the Fellow’s home country to the UK
  • Stipend (living allowance) payable monthly (or pro rata) for the duration of the award at the rate of £1,704 per month, or £2,115 per month for those at organisations in the London metropolitan area (at 2020/21 rate)
  • If a Fellow declares a disability, a full assessment of needs and eligibility for additional financial support will be offered by the CSC. See the CSC disability support statement for more information
  • Arrival allowance of up to £22 (at 2020/21 rate), including an element for warm clothing
  • For the Girls’ Education programme a £1,000 travel allowance to facilitate attendance at events
  • Reimbursement of the standard visa application fee
  • Flat rate contribution of £800 to the costs of the Host organisation relating to the administration and support of the Fellow, setting up of appropriate meetings, any materials required, and incidental travel for the Fellow during the award (to be paid to the Host organisation on receipt of an invoice).
  • Fees can be agreed for costs associated with Fellows attending short courses/conferences as well as travel to visit other UK organisations where this forms an integral part of the Up to a maximum of £3,000 can be agreed for awards of three months (to be paid to the Host organisation on receipt of an invoice)

APPLICATION

Applications must be made using the CSC’s online application system.

In the application form, prospective fellows will be asked to:

  • List all undergraduate and postgraduate university qualifications obtained (if applicable)
  • List up to 10 publications and prizes (if applicable)
  • Provide details of your employment history and explain how each job is relevant to the programme you wish to undertake in the UK (up to 100 words per employment)
  • Provide a statement on the relevance of your previous work experience to the proposed fellowship (up to 300 words)
  • List names and positions of three referees who are qualified to comment on both your capacity to benefit from your proposed Fellowship in the UK and your ability to deliver development impact afterwards. One of your referees must be your current employer.
  • Provide a Development Impact statement in 4 parts. In the first part you should explain how your proposed Fellowship relates to:
  1. a) getting 40 million more girls in primary and secondary school by 2025 and improving learning levels, so girls can achieve their full potential
  2. b) development issues at the global, national and local level
  3. c) development issues connected to the theme of girl’s education and the wider sector

(up to 200 words)

  • In the second part you should explain how you intend to apply your new skills once your Fellowship ends (up to 100 words).
  • In the third part you should outline what you expect will change in development terms following your Fellowship, including:
    a) the outcomes that you aim to achieve
    b) the timeframe for their implementation
    c) who the beneficiaries will be

(up to 250 words)

  • In the fourth part you should write about how the impact of your work could be best measured (up to 100 words).
  • Confirm what your award objectives are and how each of them will be met by the Fellowship programme
  • Confirm what your objectives are for the next two years and how each of them will be met by the Fellowship programme
  • Confirm what your objectives are in the longer term and how each of them will be met by the Fellowship programme
  • Provide a personal statement to summarise the ways in which your personal background has encouraged you to want to make an impact in your home country. You should indicate areas in which you have already contributed, such as having overcome any personal or community barriers to your chosen career (up to 500 words).
  • Summarise the ways in which you have engaged in voluntary activities and the opportunities you have had to demonstrate leadership (up to 500 words).
  • Provide a scan of your passport or national identity card

OFFICIAL LINK

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