The CSC is currently inviting applications for Commonwealth Professional Fellowships in 2013 (Round 2). Applications should be made by the UK host organisation which acts as the ‘nominator’, and which can be from any sector. Nominators should be able to identify suitable candidates themselves, through existing organisational networks or by advertising if they wish. A nominator may wish to work with a separate UK organisation to actually host the Fellowship(s).
Selection criteria
2013 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
See Selection criteria for 2013 Commonwealth Professional Fellowships for further details.
How to apply
Applications for Commonwealth Professional Fellowships must come from UK organisations – the CSC cannot accept any applications directly from prospective Fellows. We also cannot provide a list of organisations in the UK to which prospective Fellows can apply.
Round 2 of the 2013 application cycle is now open – applications must be for Professional Fellowships starting between 23 September 2013 and 1 March 2014. Please note that three-month Fellowships starting in September 2013 should finish by 20 December 2013 at the latest, so that they do not run into the Christmas holidays.
If you are a contact at a prospective host organisation interested in making an application, you will need to register to use our Electronic Application System (EAS). To do this, please write to the CSC on your organisation’s headed paper providing the full name and email address of the person who will make the application and who will act as the main contact should the Fellowship go ahead. This letter can be sent by post to:
Commonwealth Scholarship Commission in the UK (CP)
c/o The Association of Commonwealth Universities
Woburn House
20-24 Tavistock Square
London
WC1H 9HF
or as an attachment by email to professional.fellowships@cscuk.org.uk
We will then be able to set you up as a nominator on the EAS, and will email you instructions on how to apply.
Organisations that that have been previously registered on the EAS can use the login and password already provided, but should email professional.fellowships@cscuk.org.uk to inform the CSC that you intend to make an application in 2013 (Round 2).
Once registered to use the EAS, there are three stages to making an application:
- Complete the Nominator’s part of the application form and ‘release’ it.
- Notify the prospective Fellow(s) and ask them to log into the EAS as an Applicant, complete their part of the form and ‘submit’ it. They need to notify you once this has been done.
- Log back into the EAS and ‘nominate’ the Fellow(s) to the CSC.
All three stages need to be completed by the published closing date.
The closing date for applications for 2013 (Round 2) Commonwealth Professional Fellowships is 23.59 (GMT) on 31 May 2013.
Sample questions from the application form – these are provided for information only, as all applications must be submitted using the EAS.
Please note that Professional Fellows come to the UK under Tier 5 (Government Authorised Exchange) visas. The Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) is the sponsor for this, on behalf of the CSC. The UK Border Agency may make changes to the terms and conditions of Tier 5 visas at any point; any such changes are not within the CSC’s control.
The CSC anticipates that 2013 (Round 3) Commonwealth Professional Fellowships will be offered later this year, with a closing date in September/October 2013 for Fellowships starting between mid-January 2014 and 31 December 2014.
If you have any queries about Commonwealth Professional Fellowships or would like to register for information on future application rounds, please email professional.fellowships@cscuk.org.uk (please note that enquiries about other scholarships sent to this address will not be answered).
