The Oxford Internet Institute (University of Oxford) is seeking two policy advocates active within the civil society sector in the global south to join our Visitor programme.

Our Visitor programme is intended for established scholars, industry leaders, practitioners, civil society advocates and policy makers of distinction or outstanding promise, who wish to visit the OII for a limited period to study or pursue research concerning the social impact of the Internet and related ICTs. Thanks to a demonstration project support grant of 50, 000 USD from the media policy portfolio in the Knowledge, Creativity and Freedom Program of the Ford Foundation, we are able to offer two places of up to six weeks each during 2008 to eligible civil society practitioners active in the areas of freedom of expression, media reform, media justice, and/or communications and information policy in a globalized context of the Internet.

The Civil Society Practitioners Programme is intended to serve as model to be used for other similar such initiatives between universities and the civil society sector, fostering cross-pollination of ideas and collaboration between Internet researchers in university based settings such as the OII, and Internet policy advocates active within the civil society sector in the global South.

Information for Applicants

Eligibility
To apply you should meet the following minimum criteria:

• Are a citizen from and/or resident in the global South;
• have at least three years of demonstrated practical experience in your area of advocacy;
• your application must be supported by your employing organisation, acknowledging that leave will be granted to you for purposes of participating in the OII’s Visitor Programme.

To benefit fully from the residency, education to Masters degree level or equivalent would be an advantage but is not essential.

Meeting these criteria does not guarantee shortlisting for, nor award of, a funded place in the OII Civil Society Practitioners Programme.

Applications
Applications should contain the following:

• A proposal (see Proposal Specifications below), explaining why you are applying, how you meet the selection criteria and detailing the specific aims for your visit (not exceeding one A4 page);
• Letters from two referees confirming how your experience and qualifications meet the selection criteria (see below);
• A supporting letter from your employing organisation confirming that leave will be granted to you for purposes of participating in the OII’s Visitor Programme;
• An up to date Curriculum Vitae (not exceeding three A4 pages);
• A sample of written work undertaken by you within the course of your advocacy work (for example a report or study; if multi-authored, please state the extent of your contribution). (Any documents not in English must be accompanied by an English translation);
• A covering letter setting out your full name and contact details (email address; ‘phone number); Nationality; Country of residence; dates of your proposed visit; contact details for your employing organisation and for your referees (email, phone, fax and postal addresses).
  Incomplete applications will not be considered.

• [UK] Oxford Student Scholarships for Undergraduate
• [Australia] Postdoctoral Position in Bioinformatics, Macquarie University
• [UK] PhD Studentships – MRC Centre for Genomics and Global Health University of Oxford
• [UK] Postdoctoral Research Assistant in Computational Chemistry, Oxford University
• [UK] Doctoral Scholarships – Said Business School University of Oxford

The number of scholarships available at Newcastle under this scheme varies, but the University’s success rate in recent years has been very good (in 2004, 24 awards were given to Newcastle students).

Awards are made:

• for full-time research programmes only
• initially for one year but may be extended up to a maximum of three years

What does the scholarship cover?

• the difference between the tuition fee for a home (UK) postgraduate student, and the fee chargeable to an international postgraduate student
• and does not cover living expenses.

Eligibility
You could be eligible for the ORS scholarship if:

• you have been offered a place on any full-time research degree programme, in any field of study (except an Integrated PhD programme)
• you have been assessed as overseas for fees purposes, and are wholly or partially self-financing
• you intend to register to start your studies during the 2007-08 academic year

Existing students in their first year of study are also eligible to apply for one of these awards. Students in the first year of an Integrated PhD programme are eligible to apply for an ORS award. Students entering the third year of their research programme will not generally be eligible to apply for an award.

The only selection criteria are outstanding merit and research potential. Other factors such as finance, nationality, proposed field of study are not taken into account.

You can read profiles of some of our recent ORS Scholarship winners:

• Wenchao Kou from China
• Chris Jenks from the USA
• Freeman Otto Chikomo from Zimbabwe

How to apply
If you are eligible, you will automatically be sent application details from the month of December onwards.

The final closing date for completed application forms is 28 February 2007. However, you are advised to submit your forms as soon as possible for them to be checked and references obtained.

An application form is available on request from the Financial Support Team (international-scholarships@ncl.ac.uk), or you can download a Rich Text File of:

• The ORS Application Form
• The ORS Guidelines for Students
• The ORS Equal Opportunities Monitoring Form

If you need any of these documents in another format, please contact us.

Contact Details
If you have any queries please contact:

Student Welfare Service
(Financial Support Team)
Newcastle University
6 Kensington Terrace
Newcastle upon Tyne
NE1 7RU
United Kingdom

Telephone: +44 191 222 5537/5538
Fax: +44 (0) 191 222 6139
E-mail: international-scholarships@ncl.ac.uk

• [UK] Newcastle University International Postgraduate Scholarship (NUIPS)
• [UK] PhD Studentship in Molecular Biology of Chromosome Stability – Newcastle University
• [UK] University of Essex Scholarships in Economics
• [Australia] The University of Newcastle International Postgraduate Research Scholarships (UNIPRS)
• [Australia] PhD Scholarship in Signal Processing/Communication – University of New South Wales

The award is unique because it champions and celebrates the importance of creative entrepreneurs. It sets out to identify and nurture future leaders of the design industry.

We will finance and organise a ten-day visit to the UK from 10 to 24 September 2006. The tour will include visits to London and Glasgow, the Design Museum, the Victoria & Albert Museum, the Lighthouse, the Glasgow School of Art, etc.; meetings with leading designer Sir Terence Conran; seminars; and a chance to participate at the ‘100% Design’ show in London.

In the UK, the Indonesian winner will also compete against other finalists from Brazil, China, India, Lebanon, Lithuania, Oman, Slovenia, South Africa, and Thailand to win a £ 7,500 financial grant that will further develop the entrepreneurial capacity and professional engagement between young creative entrepreneurs in these markets and the UK.

Visit website for more details

• [Italy] Domus Academy Grand Prix International Design Scholarships
• [Italy] Domus Academy Milan – Changing Rooms Fashion Scholarship Competition
• [Italy] Public Competition Announcement for PhD, The Free University of Bozen-Bolzano
• Asia and Pacific Student Essay Competition on Sustainable Development
• [Italy] MBA in International Business Scholarship Competition, MIB School of Management