2017 Commonwealth Scholarships (Masters & PhD) in UK for Developing Countries

Application is now open for the CSC Commonwealth Scholarships for Masters and PhD students from developing Commonwealth countries to study in UK, funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID).

Application Deadline: 15th November, 2016

Subject Areas: All subject areas are eligible, although the CSC’s selection criteria give priority to applications that demonstrate strong relevance to development.

About Scholarship: Each year, Commonwealth Scholarships for Master’s and PhD study in the UK are offered for citizens of developing Commonwealth countries. These scholarships 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.

Scholarship Category: Masters (one-year courses only) and PhD Scholarship

Eligibility Criteria
To apply for these scholarships, you must:

• Be a Commonwealth citizen, refugee, or British protected person
• Be permanently resident in a developing Commonwealth country
• Be available to start your academic studies in the UK by the start of the UK academic year in September/October 2016
• By October 2017, hold a first degree of at least upper second class (2:1) honours standard, or a second class degree and a relevant postgraduate qualification (usually a Master’s degree)

The CSC promotes equal opportunity, gender equity, and cultural exchange. Applications are encouraged from a diverse range of candidates.
Selection Criteria
Applications are 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

Selection process
Each year, the CSC invites selected nominating bodies to submit a specific number of nominations. The deadline for nominating bodies to submit nominations to the CSC is 13 December 2016.
The CSC invites around three times more nominations than scholarships available – therefore, nominated candidates are not guaranteed to be awarded a scholarship. There are no quotas for scholarships for any individual country. Candidates nominated by national nominating agencies are in competition with those nominated by other nominating bodies, and the same standards will be applied to applications made through either channel.

Number of Scholarships: Approximately 300 scholarships are awarded each year. The CSC invites around three times more nominations than scholarships available – therefore, nominated candidates are not guaranteed to get a scholarship. There are no quotas for scholarships for any individual country. Candidates nominated by national nominating agencies are in competition with those nominated by universities/university bodies, and the same standards will be applied to applications made through either channel.

Duration of Scholarships: 12 months for Masters and up to 36 months for PhD

Eligible Countries: Developing commonwealth countries

Value of Scholarships: Each scholarship 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)
• Approved tuition and examination fees
• Stipend (living allowance) at the rate of £1,043 per month, or £1,279 per month for those at universities in the London metropolitan area (rates quoted at 2016-2017 levels)
• Thesis grant towards the cost of preparing a thesis or dissertation, where applicable
• Warm clothing allowance, where applicable
• Study travel grant towards the costs of study-related travel within the UK or overseas
• For PhD Scholars, fieldwork grant towards the cost of fieldwork undertaken overseas (usually the cost of one economy class return airfare to your fieldwork location), where approved
• For PhD Scholars, paid mid-term visit (airfare) to your home country (unless you have claimed (or intend to claim) spouse and/or child allowances during your scholarship, or have received a return airfare to your home country for fieldwork)
• If your scholarship is at least 18 months long, the following family allowances:
• Spouse allowance of £224 per month if you and your spouse are living together at the same address in the UK (unless your spouse is also in receipt of a scholarship; other conditions also apply)
• Child allowance of £224 per month for the first child, and £110 per month for the second and third child under the age of 16, if you are accompanied by your spouse and children and they are living with you at the same address in the UK
• If you are widowed, divorced, or a single parent (irrespective of the length of your scholarship), child allowance of £448 per month for the first child, and £110 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 The CSC’s family allowances are intended to be only a contribution towards the cost of maintaining your family in the UK. The true costs are likely to be considerably higher, and you must be able to supplement these allowances in order to support any family members who come to the UK with you.

APPLICATION PROCEDURE
You must apply to one of the following nominating bodies in the first instance – the CSC does not accept direct applications for these scholarships:

• National nominating agencies – this is the main route of application. See link below
• Selected universities/university bodies, which can nominate their own academic staff. See link below
• Selected non-governmental organisations and charitable bodies

All applications must be made through your 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, their own eligibility criteria, and their own closing date for applications. The CSC does not impose any age limit on applicants, but nominating bodies may do so in line with their own priorities.
You must make an application using the CSC’s Electronic Application System (EAS), in addition to any other application form that you are required to complete by your nominating body.
Your application must be submitted to and endorsed by one of the approved nominating bodies listed above. The CSC will not accept any applications that are not submitted via the EAS to a nominating body in your home country.
You are advised to complete and submit your application as soon as possible, as the EAS will be very busy in the days leading up to the application deadline.
You must provide the following supporting documentation to be received by the CSC by 6 January 2017 in order for your application to be eligible for consideration:

• References from at least two individuals
• Transcripts
• For PhD candidates only, supporting statement from a proposed supervisor in the UK from at least one of the institutions named on your application form

Visit Scholarship webpage for details. Read carefully for guidance.
Sponsors: Commonwealth Scholarship Commission (CSC) and UK Department for International Development (DFID).

Important: You should apply to study at a UK university with which the CSC has a part funding agreement. Click here for a list of UK universities which have part funding agreements with the CSC

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2016 Etisalat LagosPhoto Photography Competition

Brief description: LagosPhoto in collaboration with Etisalat invites submissions from photographers from all over the world with a voice as it relates to shaping an African identity and sensibility through repetition, rituals and performance in photography.

Application Deadline: 11th September, 2016

About the Award: Launched in 2010, LagosPhoto is the first and only international arts festival of photography in Nigeria. In a month long festival, events include exhibitions, workshops, artist presentations, discussions and large scale outdoor prints displayed throughout the city with the aim of reclaiming public spaces and engaging the general public with multifaceted stories of Africa
As nurturers of talent, the etisalat photography competition was developed as a platform to engage and empower budding photographers using the power of digital media; online, social and mobile. Each year, a theme is created and submissions are received within a specified period. The public votes for images and top 50 images are reviewed by our judging panel. Winners are rewarded with prizes, finalists are showcased at the Lagos Photo festival

Theme of Contest: This year’s theme is tagged Performance.
Action repeated constantly, becomes a ritual, its transference into other spaces of engagement becomes a performance. The preceding choice of each action contains an inherent risk. Charging the shutter, adjusting the lens, capturing the moment: all those movements can be considered as the rituals of photographers but beyond these obvious acts and interpretation, we wish to explore further these performances through the categories “daily routines” and “celebratory”. Through these categories, we hope to visualize the strength of photography in depicting our daily and celebratory activities and expressions.

Eligibility: Submit very exciting pictures that depict the theme ‘Performance’
The theme of ‘Performance’ is in 2 categories:

• daily routines – activities carried out by us as individuals on a daily basis. routines that are constant and significant either at our places of work, schools, parks, malls, market, home, to mention a few. all these activities are performances. so, capture the moment and submit interesting shots that can be tagged as daily routines.
• celebratory – performances that signifies celebratory human emotions and happenings across various aspects of life. Capture the moments and share the expressions

Selection Criteria: 

• images should depict the theme
• participants are allowed multiple entries exploring daily routines and celebratory activities
• Images must be a jpeg file. Editing/cropping via various photo editing programs/applications are acceptable.
• images must not contain inappropriate subject matter.
• images not submitted in the above mentioned manner will be disqualified from the competition.
• Etisalat and LagosPhoto retain exclusive usage rights of images submitted to this competition
• artistic creativity is highly desired

Number of Awardees: 3
Value of Contest: 

• 1st  Prize: Canon Camera
• 2nd Prize: Samsung Phone
• 3rd Prize: iPhone

Selection Process: The judging panel is comprised of selected members from the photography community as well as other creative individuals.
after the public voting, a selection of top 50 images for each category will be reviewed by the jury to produce a shortlist of top 5 per category. images from the shortlisted photographers will be featured at the grand opening of the 2016 LagosPhoto Festival and throughout the festival. the shortlisted photographers will also be enrolled at LagosPhoto summer school.
the top 3 finalists will be unveiled by the jury at the grand opening in October. Prizes will be awarded to the finalists at the exclusive annual LagosPhoto gala on 29th October.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

CONTEST WEBPAGE

Award Providers: LagosPhoto, Etisalat

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2017 Traineeship at the European Commission (Travel, €1,120 Monthly)

Apply for a paid traineeship of 5 months with the European Commission (or some executive bodies and agencies of the European Institutions like, for instance, the European External Action Service or Executive Agency for Competitiveness and Innovation), starting on either 1st March or 1st October.

Application Deadline: 31st August 2016


To be taken at (country): Any allocated country in Europe within the EU

Eligible Field of Study: None. Interested candidate can only apply for one type of traineeship at a time – administrative or translation.

About the Award: A traineeship at the European Commission is much more than just a professional experience. Each batch of trainees organises a huge range of non-formal learning, social activities, from football to wine-tasting and much in between – in true bureaucratic fashion, each with its own organising committee. There are usually 40-50 of such activities to choose from.
The main social committee is the Trainees’ Committee, which organises parties and social events in Brussels and Luxembourg. Among the most popular events are the Job Fair, which is meant to help you work out your next steps in your professional life, and the prestigious Euroball.

Eligibility: The traineeship programme is open to university graduates, from all over the world who have a:

1. Degree of at least 3 years of study (minimum a Bachelor);
2. Very good knowledge of English or French or German (C1/C2 level in accordance with the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages);
3. Very good knowledge of a second EU official language (required for nationals of EU countries).

Candidate must have completed at least 3-years of study with a degree to apply for a Blue Book traineeship. Only if you have a certificate or an official confirmation from your university that you have at least a 3-year degree will you be eligible to apply.
Candidate can apply once per session but as many times as you want until you are finally selected. If you do not pass the pre-selection, or you are in the Blue Book but not selected for a traineeship, you will have to submit again your application. It will undergo again the pre-selection with no guarantee that you will successfully pass it and be in the Blue Book again.

Selection Criteria: Candidates are anonymously evaluated in the assessment phase by two different evaluators, on the basis of following criteria:

• Level of education (a full university degree of at least three years of studies is mandatory);
• Language level in one of the three European Commission working/procedural languages (English, French, German) other than your mother tongue/s (mandatory);
• Language level in the remaining European official languages and/or non EU-languages, if applicable;
• Relevance of work experience, if applicable;
• International profile – experience of living/working abroad (mobility);
• Motivation and quality of reasoning;
• IT Skills, organisational skills, publications and rare domains of study.

If they successfully pass the first phase of the pre-selection, candidates are “pre-identified” and admitted to the second phase of the pre-selection, i.e. verification of supporting documents/eligibility check.
For the level of education, candidates can send:

• the certificate/s with the final grade/s clearly mentioned;
• the Europass Diploma Supplement, if available;
• university transcripts.

Up to three relevant work experiences can be mentioned in the application. Only work experience that is related to the profile that is selected and lasted, uninterruptedly, more than 6 weeks should be declared. Traineeships made during university courses are already assessed as part of the education and shall not be mentioned as work experiences.

Value of Traineeship: 

• You will receive a monthly grant of approximately €1,120 and reimbursement of travel expenses. Accident and health insurance can also be provided.
• Every year, there are about 1,300 places available.
• hands-on experience in an international and multicultural environment. This can be an important enrichment for your further career.
• Visa costs and related medical fees may be reimbursed together with the travel expenditures.

Duration of Traineeship: March 2017-July 2017

How to Apply:  CLICK HERE for more details

CLICK HERE TO VISIT OFFICIAL TRAINEESHIP WEBSITE


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Credit: Afterschoolafrica