The Commonwealth Foundation offers the professional fellowship program for mid-career professionals from low and middle-income Commonwealth countries. The fellows will spend between six weeks and three months at a UK Host organization working in their sector on a program of professional development. The fellowship provides talented and motivated professionals with the opportunity to enhance knowledge and skills in their given sector.

Further, these Fellowships are offered under six development themes:

1. Science and technology for development
2. Strengthening health systems and capacity
3. Promoting global prosperity
4. Strengthening global peace, security, and governance
5. Strengthening resilience and response to crises
6. Access, inclusion, and opportunity

Fully Funded Commonwealth Professional Fellowship 2020

Mid-Career professionals, under the Commonwealth fully funded Professional Fellowship 2020 scheme, are eligible for:

• 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 £1,696 per month. Moreover, for fellowship based in the London Metropolitan Area, the fellows will receive the stipend of £2,104 per month. Exceptionally, depending on the program arrangement, a peripatetic living allowance may be payable.
• Arrival allowance of up to £953.45 at current rates, including an element for warm clothing and reimbursement of the standard visa application fee.
• Flat rate contribution of £800 to the costs of the Host organization 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 (payable to the Host organization on receipt of an invoice)
• Fees of up to a maximum of £2,000 for awards under two months and up to a maximum of £3000 for awards of three months (payable to the Host organization on receipt of an invoice)

Eligibility for the Commonwealth Professional Fellowship

The Commonwealth Foundation awards the Professional Fellowship to candidates whose profile aligns with the Fellowship’s requirement. Moreover, the candidates should:

• Be a citizen of or have a refugee status by an eligible Commonwealth country, or be a British Protected Person
• Further, the fellows must 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 program, by the proposed start of the fellowship – voluntary work experience will not be counted towards this minimum
• Further, be in employment at the time of application that they will return to upon completion of the fellowship
• However, candidates should not have undertaken a Commonwealth Professional Fellowship within the last five years (at the time of application)
• Nor the candidates are seeking to undertake an academic program of research or study in the UK. 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 undertake the Fellowship between 10 February 2020 and 16 March 2020.

How to apply for the Commonwealth Professional Fellowship 2020?

Application for the fully funded Commonwealth Fellowship requires candidates to complete and submit the online application form. Further, the prospective fellows must also submit at least two recommendation letter one of which must be from a current employer.

The application process takes the following steps:

1. Prospective Host organizations must first submit an application to CSC through our online application form. As part of the application process, the Host organization must provide documentation to show they meet the eligibility requirements.
2. A Commission selection panel will review applications from the Host Organizations and communicate results to all applying organizations.
3. Prospective Fellows will then apply for a program at a specific Host organization using the CSC’s online application form.
4. The Commonwealth Foundation will share these applications with Host organizations through Huddle. Host organizations will submit the names of between two and five Fellows they wish to nominate to the Commission.
5. The Commission will make the final selections of individual Fellows.

Deadline

Fellows can apply for the Commonwealth Foundation’s Professional Fellowship 2020 Program until 4 PM (BTS), 20 September 2019. Further, the deadline to submit the recommendation letter is 4 PM (BTS) 30 September 2019.