The UK has made 372 new awards under the CSFP for the 2004/05 academic year. The Welcome Day for the new award-holders took place at Regents College in London on 15 November. Scholars and fellows from around the Commonwealth had the opportunity to meet each other, as well as members of the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission, and the CSC Secretariat at the productive one-day event.

The keynote theme was 'The Impact of International Education', and introductory speeches were given by Nick Sanders, Higher Education Advisor at the Department for Education and Skills; Robert Lawrie, Head of Scholarships and Financial Aid at the University of Edinburgh; Dominic Scott, Chief Executive of the Council for International Education; and Professor Timothy Unwin, a Commissioner based at Royal Holloway, University of London.

In the afternoon, award-holders voiced a variety of questions and concerns about the scheme to a panel of higher education experts. The day ended with a reception at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, where the Secretary General of the Commonwealth, Don McKinnon, welcomed the award-holders to the UK.

The Commonwealth Scholarship Commission's relationship with its alumni entered a new phase this month, with the establishment of its first electronic networks for alumni with similar professional interests.

Over 200 alumni have already registered for the first three networks - in the fields of public health, governance and education. In each case, network members will receive regular news briefings detailing new developments and career opportunities in their fields. It is anticipated that the professional networks will also function as a medium through which alumni can share information and ideas with each other.

Plans are underway to establish a total of ten networks, covering a wide range of professional areas, by the end of 2005. In the meantime, those wishing to register for the first wave of networks may do so by visiting www.csfp-online.org/alumni/.

The UK House of Commons Science and Technology Committee has commended recent Commonwealth Scholarship Commission initiatives in a report published on 26 October.

The report, entitled The Use of Science in UK International Development Policy, particularly welcomes the introduction of split-site and distance learning awards in recent years, but also commended the Commission for its continued support of doctoral study. It noted that the Commission had followed a "demand-led approach, which also ensured strong representation of science and technology in the review process for award applications".

Full copies of the report are available from the Stationery Office in the United Kingdom. Please visit http://www.tso.co.uk/bookshop/ for more information.

On 10 September, steps were taken to establish a Singapore alumni group at a reception for former award holders in Canada and the UK.

The British High Commissioner in Singapore, HE Alan Collins, hosted the event, and most of the 40 alumni who attended expressed a strong interest in continuing activities. Whilst the majority of those present for the event were based in the higher education sector, tracer studies have revealed that many alumni hold prominent positions in a wide range of professions, serving as parliamentarians, ambassadors, permanent secretaries and chief executives of private corporations.

Alumni from Singapore who would like to be kept up-to-date with future developments are welcome to contact the CSC Alumni Office at alumni@cscuk.ac.uk

Former Commonwealth Fellow, Dr Ramesh Vishwanath Nakat, has been awarded a substantial grant from the Indian government's Department of Biotechnology, for work that will follow up his studies in the UK. In 1987 Dr Nakat was a Commonwealth Fellow in Molecular Virology at the University of Oxford's Centre for Ecology and Hydrology.

Dr Nakat aims to find ways through which cell culture virus techniques can be made more affordable to rural farmers, by finding low-costs methods of mass production. The project will last for three years, and include comprehensive field trials.

For many Commonwealth Scholars, links with the United Kingdom extend well beyond the period of their initial award. Nowhere is this dynamic more vividly demonstrated than in Singapore.

One example of this is Keck Voon Ling, Associate Professor at Nanyang Technological University (NTU), who is currently engaged in a project on 'Model Predictive Controls (MPC) on a Chip', with Dr Jan Maciejowski of the Engineering Department at the University of Cambridge. The project is funded by the Agency for Science, Technology and Research. For more information, please visit http://www.a-star.edu.sg/astar/index.do.

Another member of staff at NTU, Associate Professor Meng Joo Er, is maintaining his link through the UK Council of the Institute of Electrical Engineers (IEE), to which he was elected a member in 2003. Professor Meng was a Commonwealth Fellow in 2000 at the University of Strathclyde.

In recent years, he has also helped the IEE boost its membership in Singapore. He has, for example, established a student section at the university, which has grown to some 140 members in just two years. He is also the current Chair of the IEE Singapore branch, and has been invited to serve on the IEE international Strategy Task Force. Further details of the IEE in Singapore can be found at http://www.iee.org.sg/.

Associate Professor Boon Hee Soong, also at NTU, has recently hosted a visit from Dr Javier Barria, his recent host for a Commonwealth Fellowship at the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Imperial College London. Both universities have strengths in specific areas of optimal resource allocation in sensor network research and self-organising ad hoc networks. The researchers are currently discussing ideas for future collaborations. This synergy will enhance areas of research such as the development of wireless sensors for important applications in biomedicine, environmental monitoring and the military.

Joram Mwesigye, who used his Commonwealth Scholarship to obtain a Masters degree in Agricultural Economics at Imperial College London in 1991, provides an excellent example of alumni making an impact in their home countries upon completion of their studies in the United Kingdom. Joram is currently co-ordinating two agricultural and environmental projects in the Karamorja region of north-eastern Uganda. His work emphasises dry-land farming, and takes place in a region largely comprised of semi-desert, which is noted for cattle rustling. A range of agencies, including the United Nations Development Program and the Danish Royal Embassy, fund Joram's work.

Dr M A Akbar, Commonwealth Fellow at the London School of Economics in 1977, has been extremely productive since his return to Haryana Agricultural University in India. 2004 saw the production of a new book in his field of animal husbandry and a paper in Animal Feed Science and Technology, published by Elsevier, which drew directly from his work in the UK. Dr Akbar has also attracted grants from Germany and Finland, and was invited to act as a resource person at a seminar organised by the Asian Productivity Organisation in Tehran, in September of last year.

Professor T J Jock Murray, Commonwealth Scholar at the University of London, 1967-68, has been awarded a Distinguished Service Award from the Medical Society of Nova Scotia, Canada. Professor Murray is also Chairman Emeritus of the American College of Physicians.

Former Canadian Commonwealth Scholar, Dr Michael Sletcher, has published his latest book New Haven: From Puritanism to the Age of Terrorism. Dr Sletcher studied for a PhD in history at Jesus College, University of Cambridge from 1998-2000. He also has a new book on New England due in December, as well as another edited edition of the Benjamin Franklin Papers due in January.

On 21 August, over 30 former Commonwealth Scholars from Malaysia attended a reception at the British High Commission in Kuala Lumpur. British High Commissioner HE Bruce Cleghorn, who was a Commonwealth Scholar in India in 1969, hosted the event.

Also present were representatives from the Malaysian Ministry of Education. In recent years, Malaysia has become a new and enthusiastic host of Commonwealth Scholarships, hosting 21 new awards since joining the programme in 2000.

Reflecting on the event, the High Commissioner said that he was impressed by the career progress made by alumni since returning from their awards, in addition to the contribution made by the CSFP to relationships between the two countries and within the Commonwealth as a whole.

The 2004 cohort of UK Commonwealth scholars in Canada was honoured at a special reception hosted by the Association of Commonwealth Universities on 11 August.

Canadian High Commissioner, Mel Cappe, chaired the reception and welcomed the fact that Canada had been able to increase the number of awards to British citizens in recent years. In total, 20 citizens where offered Canadian awards in 2004.

Matthew Street is the first-ever Commonwealth Scholar from the United Kingdom to take up a scholarship in Brunei Darussalam. A graduate of the University of Bath, Matthew is currently studying for a Masters degree in Economics at the University of Brunei Darussalam.

Although Matthew is the first award-holder from Britain, Brunei has become a regular contributor to the scheme since it began offering scholarships in the late 1990s. Figures presented to the 15th Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers (15CCEM) in 2003 show that the country hosted over 20 scholars in the three previous years. Award holders came from countries as diverse as Ghana, Pakistan, St. Vincent and Malaysia.

Dr Kolawole Adebayo, who spent held a split-site doctoral scholarship at the University of Reading in 2001, has been awarded a grant from the International Foundation of Science. The award will allow him to study the dynamics of the technology adoption process in rural-based cassava systems in south-west Nigeria. Dr Adebayo is employed by the Department of Agricultural Extension and Rural Development at the University of Agriculture in Abeokuta, Nigeria.

Former Commonwealth Academic Staff Scholar, Arup Maharatna, is now a Professor at Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics in Pune, India. Professor Maharatna also heads the Population Research Centre, which is funded by the Indian Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. His latest book on Indian tribal demographics is soon to be published by Oxford University Press.

Mary Jane Mossman, a Commonwealth Scholar at the University of London in 1971, has been awarded an honorary doctorate from the Law Society of Upper Canada. Earlier this year, she was awarded the Annual Award of Excellence from the Canadian Association of Law Teachers. Professor Mossman is currently a Professor of Law at the Osgoode Hall Law School at York University in Toronto.

Dr Atiur Rahman has recently been appointed as full-time Chair of Unnayan Shamannay, an independent non-profit research organisation specialising in participatory research and action.

One of the organisation's key priorities is to ensure that budgetary processes are more transparent and open to civil society. In 1978, Dr Rahman was a Commonwealth Scholar in economics at the School of Oriental and African Studies. Further details about the organisation can be found at http://www.shamunnay.org.

The Commonwealth Scholarship Commission in the United Kingdom has added two new courses to its scholarships for distance learning. Students can now apply for a Masters degree in Aquatic Resource Development, offered by the University of Stirling and Bangladesh Agricultural University, and a Masters degree in Facilities Management, offered by Leeds Metropolitan University in conjunction with the Dar es Salaam Institute of Technology in Tanzania.

To view a list of the 12 courses for which distance learning scholarships have been made available over the past three years, please visit http://www.csfp-online.org/hostcountries/gb.html This site also includes information for UK universities wishing to propose courses for future consideration.

Collaboration between the University of Malawi and the University of Strathclyde has attracted the attention of a high-level delegation from the United Kingdom.

On a visit to the region, the United Kingdom House of Commons Select Committee on Science and Technology heard of progress towards establishing a new Centre for Water and Sanitation.

Part of a long-standing collaboration between the institutions, support has been provided in recent years through the award of a Commonwealth Professional Fellowship to Paul Chunga, who is actively involved in the re-establishment of a Malawi professional body for environmental officers in the region. In 2004, the commission provisionally committed up to six awards for staff in the centre to study in the United Kingdom over the next few years, as part of its pilot programme in Institutional Capacity Development.

The Commonwealth Scholar Cricket XI came close to staging a major upset, losing by just four runs to the Rhodes Scholars during a closely fought match in Oxford.

The Rhodes XI, which this year includes several team members who have represented the full University of Oxford side, lost early wickets when batting first, but recovered to reach a highly credible 166. Rehan Ahmad was the most effective bowler for the Commonwealth side, taking three wickets for just 12 runs.

In reply, an excellent partnership between Australian students Charles Parkinson and John Pickaver appeared to give the Commonwealth side a chance of success, but in a tense finish, the side was eventually bowled out in the final over for 162.

Rhodes therefore retained the Times Higher Education Supplement Trophy, which was donated when the annual fixture was instigated in 2003. However, hopes are high for an even stronger challenge next year.

Around 50 UK-based Commonwealth Scholars presented their work to date and shared common goals at a research colloquium organised by the Centre for Comparative Education Research (CCER), University of Nottingham, on 3-4 June.

The scholars invited to the seminar shared a common interest in education matters. Numerous topics were discussed, including gender bias in education, education and HIV/AIDS, curriculum design, and the use of ICT. Former scholar, Professor Michael Omolewa, Ambassador and Permanent Delegate of Nigeria to UNESCO and President of UNESCO's General Council, gave a keynote speech, and the scholars were joined by CSC members Professor William John Morgan, Director of CCER and Dr Hilary Perraton. A number of postgraduates with relevant interests from the university also attended.

Proceedings are available at http://www.nottingham.ac.uk.

The launch of a new association for Commonwealth award holders in Mauritius was celebrated at a reception in Flic en Flac. The High Commissioner for Mauritius, HE Mohunlall Goburdhun, and Professor Goolam T G Mohamedbhai, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Mauritius joined some 40 attendees.

According to Dr Roshan Ramessur, President of the new chapter, around 100 of the 190 former UK award holders from Mauritius have already been traced and networked - an achievement which reflects the prominent positions held by many. In late December, one of the members, Dr Rajesh Jeetah, a 2002 Commonwealth Fellow at the University of Cambridge, was elected to Parliament as a Labour Party candidate in a by-election.

Amongst the attendees was G S Minja, the first-ever Tanzanian Commonwealth Scholar to take up a scholarship in Mauritius in 2003. Mr Minja will study for an undergraduate degree in biology with environmental science at the University of Mauritius.

Recognising the importance of access to information, 25 Commonwealth Scholars from developing countries attended an intensive course entitled 'Accessing Information in Developing Countries: The Role of the University Library' at St Catherine's College, Oxford, on 27 March.

The course was staged in conjunction with the International Network for the Availability of Scientific Publications (INASP), an independent NGO with a strong record of improving the flow of information to developing countries. For more information, please visit http://www.inasp.info/index.html.

Evidence suggests that higher education is the most popular single field for former Commonwealth Scholars. In many cases, this involves collaborative work with their host institutions, which often continues throughout their careers.

Recognising this, the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission organised a daylong seminar that attracted about 50 award holders. Hosted by the Commonwealth Secretariat at their headquarters at Marlborough House in London, the seminar reviewed the main sources of international funding, how applications can be presented more effectively, and key elements of research management. Research support officers from a range of UK universities also provided advice.

The first-ever Commonwealth Scholar in South Africa has taken up her award. Anna Marriott is currently studying for a Masters degree in Development Studies at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, which has kindly provided sponsorship. Prior to taking up the scholarship, Anna worked as a research assistant at the Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex.