Birmingham University Joins Commonwealth Island Challenge to Address Pressing Issues Facing Small Island Nations
The University of Birmingham has partnered with the Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) to join The King’s Commonwealth Fellowship Programme (KCFP) in tackling a range of global challenges.
Inspired by His Majesty King Charles III, and his life’s work to create opportunity the Programme responds to urgent economic, social and environmental development challenges affecting Small Island Developing States (SIDS).
Commonwealth SIDS are among the most vulnerable countries in the world, facing economic and environmental shocks, youth out-migration and skills shortages in public services, and experiencing disproportionate and deeply damaging effects of climate change.
We are a civic university that engages globally. We are honoured to play our part in helping to resolve some of the major challenges facing Small Island Developing States. This excellent initiative further connects the University of Birmingham and over 20 universities around the world to our Commonwealth partners. We look forward to contributing to The King’s Commonwealth Fellowship Programme as it develops in the years to come.
Professor Robin Mason, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (International) – University of Birmingham
The ambitious interdisciplinary three-part initiative offers fellowships for mid-career professionals, undergraduate scholarships, and PhDs, the programme will enable sustained short, medium and long-term impact for these countries and their communities.
Professor Robin Mason, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (International) at the University of Birmingham, commented: “We are a civic university that engages globally. We are honoured to play our part in helping to resolve some of the major challenges facing Small Island Developing States.
“This excellent initiative further connects the University of Birmingham and over 20 universities around the world to our Commonwealth partners. We look forward to contributing to The King’s Commonwealth Fellowship Programme as it develops in the years to come.”
Established with a significant personal donation from His Majesty, the ACU will deliver the KCFP through a range of activities in-country, with an emphasis on local impact and retaining skills and talent in SIDS regions.
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.
His Majesty King Charles III
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. It 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.
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.”
The King’s Commonwealth Fellowship Programme was 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.
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 ACU is 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.