Chevening partners with the British Library to launch two new fellowships

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) has partnered with the British Library to offer two new fellowships to professionals from Africa and South Asia.

Applications are now open for the Chevening/British Library Professional Fellowships, which are tenable from 2016/2017 and are jointly funded by the FCO and the British Library. Recipients of the fellowships will gain full access to the Library’s world-class research facilities, and will work on uniquely designed projects. One fellowship focuses on the acquisition and preservation of news in South Asia, and the other on how big data and open data benefit libraries across the world.

The British Library is the United Kindom’s national library, and is one of the world’s greatest research libraries, housing a collection exceeding 150 million items developed over 250 years. The fellowships will capitalise on the breadth and depth of the Library’s collections and expertise, enabling new types of research, informing strategy, and fostering international collaboration.

Tom Carney, Head of Campaigns and Evaluation at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, said: ‘The Foreign and Commonwealth Office is pleased to be partnering with the British Library through Chevening to offer a one of a kind research opportunity. Chevening continuously seeks to bring talented leaders from across the globe to the UK to establish positive and long lasting international education links. Collaborating with the renowned British Library marks a turning point for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in providing truly unique global opportunities’.

This landmark agreement is the first agreement of its kind between Chevening and a cultural institution.

Jude England, Head of Research Engagement at the British Library, said: ‘Scholarship has always sought to reach across boundaries of language, politics, faith and geography, and our collection is perhaps the most international of its kind in the world. Chevening Fellows hosted at the library will be part of that tradition, bringing with them fresh insights and new perspectives, and taking away an experience that informs all our futures.’

Each Chevening/British Library Professional Fellowship will cover living expenses for the duration of the fellowship and a return airfare, and includes a generous allowances package.

Applications from eligible candidates must be submitted via www.chevening.org/apply by 10 February 2016.

*Fellowships will be available to nationals of the following  African and South Asian countries: Algeria, Angola, Bangladesh, Benin, Bhutan, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Gabon, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, India, Kenya, Liberia, Libya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Maldives, Mauritania, Mauritius, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Seychelles, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, Swaziland, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe.