The Association of Commonwealth Scholarships (ACU) and the University of the South Pacific (USP) have just signed an agreement for USP to host Commonwealth Scholarships from 2016.

USP will be welcoming one Commonwealth Scholar to the institution's Laucala campus in Fiji in 2016, to study an MSc in Climate Change. Another scholarship will be offered to start in February 2017.

Commonwealth Scholarships in low and middle-income countries are majority funded by the Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship Plan (CSFP) endowment fund. These scholarships are open to applicants from all Commonwealth countries other than the host country.

Professor Rajesh Chandra, Vice-Chancellor of USP, said 'As a former Commonwealth Scholar myself, I am delighted that the University of the South Pacific has committed to hosting Scholars for the next two years. International students add a different dimension to any university environment, and I would encourage other ACU member universities to maximise the opportunities offered through the CSFP endowment fund to host such students'.

Dr John Kirkland, Deputy Secretary General of the ACU, said 'The CSFP endowment fund aims to make Commonwealth Scholarships truly Commonwealth-wide, and is now able to support up to 30 scholars at any one time. It's great that a Commonwealth Scholar will be hosted in the South Pacific, and we thank USP for their support'.

Since its creation in 2009, the endowment fund has enabled scholarships to be offered at ACU member institutions in Bangladesh, Botswana, Cameroon, Fiji, Ghana, Jamaica, Mauritius, Kenya, Nigeria, Pakistan, Rwanda, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Swaziland and Tanzania.

To see more photographs of the signing, visit the ACU Flickr account

For more information, see Commonwealth Scholarships in low and middle income countries