London, UK / Apia, Samoa / Sydney, Australia
Today, the Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) launches The King’s Commonwealth Fellowship Programme. Inspired by His Majesty King Charles III, and his life’s work to create opportunity and to tackle contemporary challenges including climate change and inequality, the programme has been developed in response to urgent economic, social and environmental development challenges affecting Small Island Developing States (SIDS).
An ambitious interdisciplinary three-part initiative, it will offer fellowships for mid-career professionals, undergraduate scholarships, and PhDs. Delivered together, these three strands will enable sustained short, medium and long-term impact for Commonwealth SIDS and their communities.
Commonwealth Small Island Developing States (SIDS) are among the most vulnerable countries in the world, facing numerous economic and environmental shocks, youth out-migration and skills shortages in public services, and experiencing disproportionate and deeply damaging effects of climate change.
Efforts to strengthen their resilience and capacity to tackle these intersecting development challenges are urgent. Inspired by The King and established with a significant personal donation from His Majesty, The King’s Commonwealth Fellowship Programme (KCFP) has been co-created in partnership with universities and stakeholders in SIDS and from across the Commonwealth.
Activities included in the programme will take place in-country, with an emphasis on local impact and retaining skills and talent in SIDS regions. The programme aims to strengthen climate resilience, build capacity in education, health and engineering, and develop resilient public services and the skills of those who support them, by:
- supporting civil servants, local government and mid-senior career professionals to further develop their skills, knowledge and understanding of climate resilience and its impact on other sectors through part-time fellowships undertaken alongside work;
- addressing significant capacity challenges in key education, healthcare and engineering sectors via undergraduate training;
- upskilling university academic staff and ‘train the trainers’ of future generations of researchers and workers in industries vital to SIDS resilience, through PhDs delivered in collaboration with ACU’s network of universities across the Commonwealth.
This prestigious programme will fully fund, train and support multiple cohorts of undergraduate, postgraduate and mid-career King’s Fellows in its first few years and seeks to engage participants from every Commonwealth SIDS. The programme will be tailored to the specific and unique needs of SIDS, but with broad thematic focus areas to facilitate knowledge sharing. Participants will have the opportunity to join a cohort of SIDS King’s Fellows, with the opportunity to network and exchange learning and shared problem solving with peers across SIDS and with ACU’s wider network of universities.
His Majesty The King said:
'I am delighted to support this important new initiative. Throughout my life I have believed in the power of education to improve lives and unite communities across the Commonwealth and beyond. There is so much we can learn from one another as we work together within the Commonwealth to tackle the major challenges of our age and, as these Fellowships do in Small Island Developing States, to address them where they are felt most acutely. It is my fervent hope that these new Fellowships will play a significant role in furthering the free exchange of knowledge and advancing the spirit of mutual support that lies at the heart of our Commonwealth - today, tomorrow and towards a brighter future for all.'
Professor Colin Riordan, ACU Secretary General and Chief Executive comments: 'It is an honour to have the opportunity to design and deliver this one-of-a-kind programme inspired by His Majesty The King, the ACU’s Patron. Creating opportunities and facilitating knowledge exchange are at the heart of what we do, and drawing on our longstanding expertise in scholarships and the local knowledge of our member universities in Commonwealth Small Island Developing States, we are proud to work in partnership with our members in a range of Commonwealth countries to support the delivery of this important SIDS-focused legacy programme in His Majesty’s name.'
The King's Commonwealth Fellowship Programme is launched in celebration of 75 years of the Commonwealth, and in support of this year’s theme for the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) ‘One Resilient Common Future: Transforming our Common Wealth’. His Majesty The King as the Head of the Commonwealth and Patron of the ACU will ceremonially launch the programme in Samoa during CHOGM.
The King’s Commonwealth Fellowship Programme will be delivered by the ACU, a global organisation with over 100 years’ experience of delivering transformative educational opportunities, and a network of over 400 universities in more than 40 countries. The ACU has deep expertise in scholarship management, programme design and delivery, and monitoring and evaluation. His Majesty The King was named Patron of the ACU in May 2024, succeeding his mother, The Late Queen, who held the role since 1986.
The King’s Commonwealth Fellowship Programme will be part of the Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship Plan which has created life-changing opportunities for more than 38,000 individuals since it was founded by Commonwealth Ministers of Education in 1959.
The Programme is generously supported by its Founding Member, the Khalili Foundation. Over the past three decades, the Foundation has enabled peacebuilding through art, culture and education and has become a global leader in promoting interfaith and intercultural relations. It has supported and driven a number of internationally recognised projects that use the power of art, culture and education to bring people together and to build harmonious societies.
List of Commonwealth SIDS
Africa
Mauritius, Seychelles
Asia
The Maldives
Caribbean and Americas
Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and Grenadines, Trinidad and Tobago
Pacific
Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Papua New Guinea PNG, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu