Welcome to the May CSC Alumni e-newsletter. This issue brings you news of recent events, updates on alumni projects and the latest Professional Networks developments.
Send us your alumni news!
If you have a project you want to share with other alumni in the next e-newsletter, please email the alumni office (alumni@cscuk.org.uk). You can also email with career, award or publication news or other stories for future issues of Commonwealth Scholarships News. You can also share your news at any time by posting to our Commonwealth Scholarships and Professional Networks groups on LinkedIn.
Update your contact details
If you want to update your email or postal contacts, employment details or online Directory of Commonwealth Scholars and Fellows profile, please email: alumnitrace@cscuk.org.uk (include your full name, year of course/institution attended, to help us locate your record easily).
Alumni activities and services
- Alumni events – reports from events in Bangladesh, Kenya, India, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia
- Professional Networks – scholars, fellows and alumni have used our Commonwealth Scholarships group to give input into the new CSC strategic plan, to provide article for Commonwealth Scholarships News and to share with new award holders the impact past awards have had. Members have also used our eight Professional Networks in Agriculture, Economics & Finance, Education, Environment, Gender, Governance, Public Health and Science & Technology to share news of publications, career opportunities, projects or research achievements. This is an ideal way to let the CSC and also the whole CSC community know about news and events
- Taylor & Francis Commonwealth Scholar Best Journal Article Prize – the winner of the 2013 prize, Dr Adam Lewandowski, was presented with his prize at a recent ceremony at the ACU. You can find out more on Adam’s research in the next issue of Commonwealth Scholarships News. Alumni eligible to enter the 2014 Best Journal Article Prize will be emailed with a link to the online entry form during June
Alumni projects update
In this e-newsletter we are celebrating the work of our alumni in our Environment and Public Health Professional Networks. If you have a similar story of your career achievements or the impact of your scholarship or fellowship, you can share this with the Commonwealth Scholarships community through the Professional Networks on LinkedIn.
Environment
- Scholar’s research improves air passenger safety
Sameera Arshad’s scholarship is enabling her to improve air passenger safety - Using science to combat gender and development challenges
Oiza Olowojoba is increasing the use of GIS technology and encouraging female students to take up careers in science - Protecting the dugong and Malaysia’s marine habitats
Louisa Ponnampalam has been awarded a fellowship to monitor the dugong - Safeguarding coastal areas and communities
Roshan Ramessur shares news of current and forthcoming activities in coastal zone management
Public Health
- Professional Fellow pioneers new mental health support services
Joseph Atukunda’s organisation provides innovative mental health services in Uganda - Commonwealth Scholar recognised for his contribution to stroke prevention
Dinesh Khandelwal has been awarded the World Stroke Day 2013 Prize - Commonwealth Fellow’s career advances dental surgery and research techniques
Hari Parkash’s fellowship provided him with skills that provided a basis for a distinguished career - Commonwealth Scholar draws attention to global health issues
Nicholas Neufeld’s Commonwealth Scholarship has strengthened his interest in inequalities in global health research and debates
You can also send your stories and photos for the next issue of Commonwealth Scholarships News, or to be included as a feature on our CSC website by emailing: alumni@cscuk.org.uk
News from the CSC
- Update on the CSFP Endowment Fund
The CSFP Endowment Fund has allowed Commonwealth Scholarships to become truly Commonwealth-wide. Since the inception of the Fund in 2009, we have raised almost £7million to support additional scholarship activity in low and middle income countries, delivering opportunities that usually would not be available through any other source. The recipients of our inaugural awards have travelled from Sri Lanka to Samoa, Canada to Tanzania and Botswana to Sri Lanka – to name a few examples. The best thing about the Endowment Fund is that it is permanent. It is our aim to grow it to ensure that Commonwealth Scholarships exist in a wide range of venues, and will continue to support the academic work of talented scholars from across the world. You can find out more about the impact of the scholarships in the next issue of Commonwealth Scholarships News, as well as updates via email. We hope you will take some time to learn more about this initiative and continue your involvement with the Commonwealth Scholarships community. - Tracing alumni – can you help? We are currently working on tracing projects in Canada, the Caribbean, the South Pacific and South Africa. Thanks to all those alumni who have given us information on our untraced alumni in these areas. We’re still working on these projects, so do get in touch if you are in contact with any untraced alumni. Visit the country tracing project webpages to view the lists of untraced alumni, and to find out how you can help us locate them
- News from the Evaluation team
The Commission was delighted to welcome Dr Matt Mawer to join the Evaluation team in December 2013. Matt has two main areas of responsibility, a scoping study of evaluation work being undertaken by other scholarship providers and funders in order to inform our own work and contribute to the understanding of work in the sector as a whole. The study is well underway and will be published on completion. The second priority is to prepare and implement the annual evaluation survey exercise which this year has been distributed to all alumni members who held awards in years ending in 4 or 9. Over 1,400 emails were sent with links to this vitally important survey; we hope that as many of you as possible completed the survey and cannot stress enough how important your participation, however detailed, is. Finally, please keep an eye on the CSC website for further updates on our evaluation work, including case study profiles and interviews with alumni.
Projects, career and funding opportunities
- Transforming Africa Initiative
Dr Inalegwu Oono, a 2013 Commonwealth Scholar studying a PhD in Public Health (epidemiology) at the University of Newcastle, has set up the Transforming Africa Initiative. TAI is a registered charity with a mission to address inequality in African societies and facilitate national development through research, advocacy, education, publications, community projects and quality healthcare services. Projects undertaken in Nigeria include HIV/AIDS awareness campaigns, training and the setting up of schools’ clubs in the Middle Belt and Niger Delta regions of Nigeria. The new TAI youth mentoring scheme connects a young person resident in Nigeria with an adult in Nigeria or elsewhere who can provide mentoring and encouragement in education and career development. To find out more and how you can participate, visit the website: http://www.taiworld.org/ or the Facebook page. - ID100 – identifying the 100 most important questions in international development
Emmanuel Adu-Ampong, a 2009 Commonwealth Shared Scholar (MA in Tourism, Environment & Development, King’s College, London) is now studying for a PhD in the Department of Town and Regional Planning at the University of Sheffield. He also works on the ID100 project, which is led by the Sheffield Institute for International Development, a flagship research institute within the University of Sheffield. It enables individuals and organisations from across policy, practice and academia to submit questions that address global environmental, political and socioeconomic problems. These will then be shortlisted down to a final set of 100 questions following a debate and voting process with representatives from leading development organisations. The final list of questions will be published as an influential policy report and in a leading academic journal. Similar priority-setting exercises, in fields ranging from biodiversity conservation to food security, have been instrumental in framing global research priorities for policy development and implementation. You can submit up to five questions related to key issues in international development. More information about the project can be accessed on the ID100 website – http://siid.group.shef.ac.uk/id100/ - The world beyond 2015 – Is higher education ready?
This is a campaign to raise awareness of how higher education can and should respond to global challenges ahead of the Millennium Development Goals expiring in 2015. The campaign, run by the Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU), provides an international platform for diverse voices both within and outside the university sector. Structured around six questions, the campaign has received worldwide interest, including opinion pieces and examples of how universities are having an impact on society. Join the campaign by browsing through the current articles and videos, commenting on them, and of course submitting a contribution of your own: www.acu.ac.uk/beyond-2015
