Commonwealth Professional Fellowships 2024

Applications are currently welcomed from qualified applicants for Commonwealth Professional Fellowships for the 2023/2024 sessions. This program is open to Mid-career professionals.

This Fully-funded fellowship is an opportunity awarded to qualified Mid-career professionals. This program is sponsored by Commonwealth Scholarship Commission, UK and hosted by UK host organization. Commonwealth Professional Fellowships are for mid-career professionals from low- and middle-income countries to spend a period of time at a UK host organization working in their sector for a program of professional development.

All Commonwealth Professional Fellowships in the 2023/24 round are in the thematic area of Clean Energy, Air and Oceans. The Purpose is to provide professionals with the opportunity to enhance knowledge and skills in their given sector, and to have catalytic effects on their workplaces.

Intended beneficiaries: Mid-career professionals (with five years’ relevant work experience) working in development-related organizations in low- and middle-income Commonwealth countries.

Fellowship Summary:

Fellowship Sponsor(s): Commonwealth Scholarship Commission, UK

Host Institution(s): UK host organization

Fellowship Worth: Fully-funded

Number of Awards: Several

Study Level: Mid-career professionals

Nationality: See eligible Countries (below)

Requirement and Eligibility Criteria for Commonwealth Professional Fellowships 2024:

Applicants must be a citizen of or have been granted refugee status by an eligible Commonwealth country, or be a British Protected Person
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 Fellowship program, 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 at an organization that they will return to upon completion of the Fellowship
Provide at least two references, one of which must be from their current employer.
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 program of research or study. Academics are eligible to apply for the scheme, but only to undertake programs of academic management, not research or courses relevant to their research subject
Be available to start and complete their fellowship within prescribed dates

Eligible Countries

The following countries are eligible for the Commonwealth Professional Fellowships:

Bangladesh, Belize, Botswana, Cameroon, Dominica, Eswatini, Fiji, Gabon, 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, Togo, Tonga, Tuvalu, Uganda, Vanuatu, Zambia.

Application Procedures for the 2023/2024 Commonwealth Professional Fellowships (how to apply):

Interested applicants for the Commonwealth Professional Fellowships are to complete an online application form and provide all the required information by the application deadline.

Fellowships will be tenable for between six weeks and three months starting from February 2024.

Please note that all Commonwealth Professional Fellowships in the 2023/24 round are in the approved thematic areas. All applicants must be professionals working on related issues.

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

List all undergraduate and postgraduate university qualifications obtained (where applicable)
List up to 10 publications and prizes (if applicable)
Provide details of employment history and explain how each job is relevant to the program 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 up to 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 (up to 200 words) you should explain how your proposed Fellowship relates to:

Reducing reliance on fossil fuels, lowering rates of air pollution or promoting marine conservation, in accordance with the aims of COP 26 and SDGs 7, 13 and 14.
Development issues at the global, national and local level
Development issues connected to the theme of climate change and the wider sector

Application Deadline: 16 August, 2023

For more information about this opportunity, Visit the Official Website.