The programme enabled me to complete my graduate studies at a time and in a place where I had no other resources. I also received the required qualifications for a tenure track appointment at a University.
Professor A.P. Lino Grima, Centre for Environment and Geography, University of Toronto

It would have been impossible for me to study at the university level if I had not obtained the scholarship. The fact that it was a Canadian scholarship opened vistas which I had certainly not contemplated at the time of my application, particularly if one considers that I eventually settled in this country and was able to actively participate in research, teaching and administration at the university level in Canada, and for which I am forever grateful.
Bernard Philogène, Professor Emeritus, University of Ottawa

I thank the Government of Canada for the scholarship. It helped me and my country tremendously. Still I am the only person residing in Bangladesh having both a Masters' degree and a Ph.D. degree in the field of Computer Science. The main credit goes to the Canadian Commonwealth Scholarship program which enabled me to pursue higher studies in the field of Computer Science when there were no institution in Bangladesh to learn about Computer Science. Dhaka University did not have a single working computer!
Dr. Abul L. Haque, North South University, Dhaka, Bangladesh

I am a professional East Indian dancer and scholar of Indian Arts (D.Phil., Oxford). I am very fortunate to have received two Commonwealth Scholarships (1972-3) which allowed me to pursue both the artistic and academic aspects of Indian dance and other Indian arts. In India in the 1970s there were still hereditary masters who were teaching the dance in their own homes. This intimate association with the arts of India gave me the insight and background to complete two Oxford University degrees: an M.Litt in Indian art history, and a D.Phil in the sociology of Indian Arts. As a member of the InterCulture Lab at the University of Ottawa and as artistic Director of Cultural Horizons my work with Indian arts has been used to develop valuable cross cultural educational materials and mixed media dance concerts that explore a variety of themes, including the Environment. I wish to acknowledge and thank the Commonwealth Committee for their generous support, without which I could not have followed my chosen career. This support set me on the path to a lifetime of involvement with India and its arts.
Anne-Marie Gaston (ANJALI)

Greetings from Tanzania. Through the Commonwealth Scholarship I have achieved a lot of things. I have brought tremendous changes to the million of Tanzanians, especially in the rural areas.

The program has enlightened me not only on hard skills from the courses but from social life as well. My personal life has improved tremendously. I have been able to balance life. Indeed after graduating from Concordia life I can proudly say my dreams have come true. The progress I have achieved in my life today has been brought by the education I got from Canada. Thanks to the Canadian Government and the organizers.
Abel Lyimo C.E.O. Rural Urban Development Initiatives, Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania

I have been working as a trainee planning officer under the World Bank funded project in 1985 when I won the scholarship in 1988. I received the offer from COSAP and the University of Alberta from the Department of education in Port Moresby on the 17th of September and told to prepare to travel within a week. I have never travelled out of PNG and this was a new experience for me. My academic advisor was an economist and a most understanding person. For me my scholarship plan was to be a reflective one between theory and the policy setting of the PNG education system. My adviser arranged an internship program for me with the Policy Director at the Alberta Department of Education. This allowed me to maintain my link with the government policy setting and reflect on my experiences. The Director had a double PhD from Harvard University and the University of Alberta had also studied developing country education. The Chilean educational reforms fascinated me so I had the opportunity to discuss the pitfalls of the Chilean reform and compared different practices from Canada, South America, PNG and other developing countries. My memorable experience at Alberta Department of Education was the involvement in the development of the Alberta Education Plan 2000. This experience became basis of my masters research paper and thesis. My scholarship experience at the university was greatly enriched by this arrangement and I am indebted to my advisor for this because it prepared me for my career in the public service. The masters program was an eye opener for me because I had the opportunity to research into the field of futures and foresight and looking outside education to form opinions about the different pathways to development. I developed critical theory as the nexus of my thought process. Strategic thinking, strategic action and imbedding science and technology in national change and development were formed at Alberta and it continues to be the beacon of my professional life and action.

My experiences in Canada

Students Hall of residence is a resource itself. Pembina Hall where I resided for 18 months was an adult mixed dorm (male and females) for all nationalities. It was a hub of scholarship as it was for socialising. Students organized BBQs, trips, clean a thon and drank at the Power plant (Graduate Students Pub). In summer we would go for long walks across the city of Edmonton to the West Edmonton Mall until 10.30 pm at sun set. I experienced two Edmonton Cultural Festivals. In 1989 I took a week break to the Canadian Rockies travelling by bus from Edmonton, Calgary, Canada-USA border, Banff and Jasper by Greyhound Bus and train during which I meet three PNG females and two males attached to Chevron. With a fellow student I visited some Indian reserves and drove across Saskatchewan including a plane ride around the Saskatoon area and back to Edmonton, occasionally stopping to marvel at the mesmerising Northern lights. One could literally hug them.
William G.R. Tagis, PhD, Director General, Papua New Guinea Office of Higher Education

I am a Professor of Geology at University of Calgary and a former Commonwealth Scholar (1981-1984, Edinburgh University, PhD in Geology).

Studying at Edinburgh was arguably was the most life-changing event of my life. But the experience went both ways - I believe I had a positive, energetic impact on the academic vitality and cultural life of the Department of Geosciences at Edinburgh by bringing my Canadian training and perspectives to play.

My relations with the UK and Edinburgh University remain - I maintain an active research program in Scotland, regularly visit Edinburgh University, and direct top students there.
Professor David Pattison, University of Calgary

To say that I owe my Oxford education (B.C.L. 1985) and my life-long career as an academic in the Faculty of Law at McGill University to the Commonwealth Scholarship is not an exaggeration. After obtaining my civil law and common law degrees from McGill in 1983, and while pursuing the courses to become a member of the Quebec Bar, I realized that an academic career in law was for me. For that, of course, you need a graduate degree and it did not take me long to select the B.C.L. at Wadham College, Oxford, as the one I should pursue.

But how to finance this luxury of an education? Being newly married, I was somewhat dismayed that the Rhodes Scholarship at the time precluded married applicants! I therefore put, so to speak, all my eggs in the Commonwealth Scholarship basket. When I received news that I was one of the lucky recipients of such a lucrative and prestigious award, my future at Oxford and frankly, the rest of my academic career, was set. Ironically (and happily) the Commonwealth Scholarship even provided a stipend for my husband during the months he took an unpaid leave from his employment to spend time with me in Oxford!

To a modern Canadian woman in 1984/85, Oxford still seemed to be operating in the 14th Century. Sub fusc clothing was required for examinations; terms were designated in Latin and although not nearly as frigid as Canadian winters, the damp English winter gave me chilblains (which I had never heard of) on my toes! This was all, in retrospect, part of the charm. But it was at Oxford, through the unique one-on-one interactions with brilliant tutors that I learned how to think, analyze and write - skills I use daily in my academic career.

My time at Oxford was definitely a turning point in my life. I made life-long friends who I still see even if they live in England or Australia. I moved from being a student to a scholar and was able to pursue my dream of an academic career. Over the 25 years I have been working as a professor, I have had the privilege of serving McGill as its Dean of Students (1995-2001) and working as a senior advisor at the National Judicial Institute educating judges (2005-07). But most of all, I have had the privilege of working in an academic environment with amazing colleagues and teaching thousands of brilliant law students. I continue to thank the Commonwealth Scholarship for this wonderful opportunity for which I remain ever so grateful.
Rosalie Jukier, Professor, Faculty of Law, McGill University

I am extremely grateful to the Commonwealth Scholarship Programme for making my dream of international study a reality. I have always felt that my education will be incomplete without the international flavour and it is a good thing that the program achieves that.

No doubt, my exposure through the program has substantially enhanced my academic understanding in such a strong way, that I and sure my country will benefit immensely.

I appreciate every bit of my stay. Canada is a great place!
Dr. Akinloye Akindayomi, University of Ado-Ekiti, Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria