New awards unveiled for overseas students

A raft of new overseas scholarships schemes is being established to start next year (October 1998) with University co-funding, specifically aimed at supporting students admitted from the University's current priority regions of Africa, China, and South America. The University is contributing to eight new annual awards for one-year Master's courses, under the Shell Centenary Scholarships Scheme. Shell has created a £10 million endowment fund to help support fifty places a year overall for students from the developing world, at Durham, Cambridge, Edinburgh, University and Imperial Colleges, London, as well as at Oxford. Of these, twelve will be jointly funded by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (Chevening Awards) including two at Oxford. Speaking at the launch last week, attended by senior representatives of the universities, Mr Robin Cook, MP, the Foreign Secretary, said: `The scheme will give talented young people from around the world the opportunity to study in the UK, thus increasing their ability to help in the development of their countries.' The Peter Jenks Vietnam Scholarship has been established in memory of Mr Jenks, an American citizen who read Greats at Jesus College (1977–80), and lived and worked in Vietnam (1993–4). He died suddenly in Hanoi in December 1994, aged 39. Funding is being provided by Mr Richard Burn, of Batey Burn Ltd. for a first award in 1998, with matching funding from the University to enable a second award in 1999. It is hoped that this award will benefit Vietnam, where Mr Jenks had many friends. Two awards will also be offered to graduates from Australia, thanks to the successful work of the Oxford Australia Fund, and particularly through the generosity of Mr James Fairfax. The FCO has agreed to link two additional Chevening Scholarships to the scheme. A new award is also being set up for a leading overseas philosophy student with joint funding from the John Locke Fund, which is administered by the Sub-faculty of Philosophy, and the University. Professor Denis Noble, chairman of the University's International Committee, said: `These are all welcome developments. Much more remains to be done, but it is particularly important to create awards in regions such as Africa, China, and South America where Oxford has very few awards to offer.' Dr Paul Flather, secretary to the Committee, added: `It is clear from recent experience that the offer of joint funding from the University or from other outside bodies such as the FCO, can play a vital role in creating new schemes.' A pilot version of the new Bram Fischer Oxford South Africa Awards, named after the late Mr Bram Fischer (New College 1932), who defended Nelson Mandela at the Treason and Rivonia Trials of 1960 and 1963, has also been launched. The programme, warmly welcomed by President Mandela during his visit to the University in July, aims to strengthen the management, teaching, and research skills of those involved in higher education in the `new' South Africa. The first three participants will take a two-month taught programme, to be run by the Department for Continuing Education in collaboration with Oxford Brookes University and the Staff Development Unit, followed by a period of research. A number of companies are backing this scheme, and further funding is being sought so that it can eventually be expanded to take eight students a year. For more information on these awards, please contact the International Office on (2)70134.