Commonwealth Medical Fellowships 2018 for Students in Developing Countries

Application Deadline: 21st May 2018

Offered annually? Yes

Eligible Countries: Bangladesh, Cameroon, The Gambia, Ghana, India, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Nigeria, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Rwanda, Samoa, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Uganda, Vanuatu, Zambia.

To be taken at (country): UK

About the Award: Commonwealth Medical Fellowships (Enhancing Clinical Skills) are offered for mid-career medical staff from developing Commonwealth countries. These fellowships are funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID), with the aim of contributing to the UK’s international development aims and wider overseas interests, supporting excellence in UK higher education, and sustaining the principles of the Commonwealth.
The purpose of this fellowship is to provide mid-career medics with the opportunity to enhance their clinical skills, and to have catalytic effects on their workplaces.
These fellowships are offered under the second of the CSC’s six 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

Offered Since: 1959

Type: Fellowship

Eligibility: To apply for these fellowships, you 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
• Be employed by a hospital affiliated to a university
• Be available to start your fellowship in the UK in January 2019
• Have qualified as a doctor between 1 October 2008 and 30 September 2011, or before 1 October 2003
• Have qualified at a medical school recognised by the World Directory of Medical Schools
• Have met the English language requirements of the General Medical Council (GMC) by 31 August 2018

You will be expected to participate in clinical practice during your fellowship, and to register with the General Medical Council (GMC). If your proposed programme does not require this registration, your application will be considered ineligible.
The CSC aims to identify talented individuals who have the potential to make change. We are committed to a policy of equal opportunity and non-discrimination, and encourage applications from a diverse range of candidates.

Selection Criteria: Each year, the CSC invites each nominating body to submit a specific number of nominations. The deadline for nominating bodies to submit nominations to the CSC is 4 June 2018.

The CSC invites around three times more nominations than fellowships available – therefore, nominated candidates are not guaranteed to be awarded a fellowship.
Each nominated candidate’s application will be considered firstly by an academic adviser with expertise in the subject area concerned, and then by the CSC selection committee in competition with other candidates.
Applications will be considered according to the following selection criteria:

• Academic merit of the candidate
• Quality of the proposal
• Potential impact of the work on the development of the candidate’s home country

Duration of Fellowship:  Between three and six months

Value of Fellowship: Each fellowship provides:

• Approved airfare from your home country to the UK and return at the end of your award (the CSC will not
  reimburse the cost of fares for dependants, nor usually the cost of journeys made before your award is finally
  confirmed)
• Research support grant, payable to your host university hospital
• Stipend (living allowance) at the rate of £1,627 per month, or £2,019 per month for those at university hospitals
  in the London metropolitan area (rates quoted at 2017-2018 levels)
• Reimbursement of the fee for a single English language test and the fee for General Medical Council (GMC)
  registration
• Warm clothing allowance
• Study travel grant towards the costs of approved travel within the UK
• If you are widowed, divorced, or a single parent, child allowance of £457 per month for the first child, and £112
  per month for the second and third child under the age of 16, if you are accompanied by your children and they
  are living with you at the same address in the UK

How to Apply: You must apply to one of the following nominating body in the first instance – the CSC does not accept direct applications for these fellowships:

• Selected universities/medical colleges
• In Bangladesh, India, and Sri Lanka, the national University Grants Commission
• In Pakistan, the Higher Education Commission

All applications must be made through a nominating body in your home country. Each nominating body is responsible for its own selection process. You must check with your nominating body for their specific advice and rules for applying, and for their own closing date for applications.
You must make your application using the CSC’s application system. Your application must be submitted to and endorsed by one of the eligible nominating bodies listed above. The CSC will not accept any applications that are not submitted via the CSC’s application system to a nominating body in your home country.
All applications must be submitted by 23.59 (BST) on 21 May 2018 at the latest.
You must provide the following supporting documentation, which must be received by the CSC by 23.59 (BST)on 28 May 2018 in order for your application to be eligible for consideration:

• Academic references from at least two individuals

Apply now

Visit Fellowship Webpage for details

Award Provider: Commonwealth Scholarship Commission (CSC) and UK Department for International Development (DFID).