Research on the British Library’s African-language printed books collections

Application Deadline: 6th November 2018

The Chevening British Library Fellowship is a collaboration between the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the British Library, offering international experts a year-long professional project-based placement. Fellows will have the privilege of working with the extensive library’s collections, and benefit from the broad range of professional expertise of library staff. Please note that this fellowship is not suitable for those wanting to pursue their own research.

The British Library is the national library of the UK and one of the world’s greatest research libraries. The British Library’s collection encompasses all fields of knowledge in hundreds of languages, covering 3,500 years from some of the earliest written records to the digital collections of the present day, and range over all formats. As a public-facing, culturally-active research institute, Chevening is pleased to partner with the British Library to bring international experts to the UK to pursue a one-of-a-kind opportunity.

Fellows will undertake a period of professional project-based activity at the British Library, receiving support and supervision from library staff. Please note that this fellowship is not suitable for those wanting to pursue their own research. For the 2019/2020 academic year, two placements are on offer and will provide fellows with experience in strategic and policy work relevant to a national library. There is one placement per theme:

Theme 1 – Research on digitised archival material from Latin America and the Caribbean

This fellowship is available in the following countries:

• Antigua and Barbuda
• Argentina
• Brazil
• Colombia
• Cuba
• Dominica
• Dominican Republic
• Grenada
• Haiti
• Jamaica
• Mexico
• Peru
• St. Lucia
• St. Vincent and the Grenadines

Theme 2: Research on the British Library’s African-language printed books collections

This fellowship is available in the following countries:

• Nigeria
• South Africa
• Tanzania
• Zambia
• Zimbabwe

Eligibility Requirements:

To be eligible for a Chevening/British Library Fellowship, you must:​

• Demonstrate the potential to rise to positions of leadership and influence
• Demonstrate that you possess the personal, intellectual, and interpersonal attributes reflecting this potential
• Be a citizen of one of the above listed countries, who will return to your home country at the end of the period of fellowship
• Have a postgraduate (PG) level qualification (or equivalent professional training or experience in a relevant area) at the time of application
• Have significant professional and/or academic research experience (at least five years)
• Be currently employed or a currently enrolled PhD candidate (PhD must not be with a UK/EU or USA university)
• Provide evidence of meeting at least the minimum English language abilities for Chevening Awards
• Not hold dual nationality where one nationality is British (other than for nationals exempt from this requirement).
• Not be employees, employees’ relatives (or former employees who have left employment less than two years before) of Her Majesty’s Government including the FCO (including FCO Posts), the British Council, DFID, MOD, BIS, UKTI and UKBA, the Association of Commonwealth Universities, or the British Library or any of their wholly-owned subsidiaries.
• Applicants who have previously received financial benefit from a HMG-funded scholarship or fellowship are eligible to apply after a period of five years following the completion of their first HMG funded award and are required to demonstrate their career progression from that point

How to Apply: