BI OVERSEAS SCHOLARSHIPS BOARD
Progress Report for the 7 month Period April to 31 October 1991
Paper OS 015
General
1.
2.
3.
On the whole, the year so far has been very much the same as last year in terms of the 'climate' and achievements.
The period has seen the development of a closer working relationship between ourselves and our sponsor department of the DTI which has led to the inclusion of the DTI logo on
on our stationery and literature, and steps being taken to provide the scheme with even stronger support from diplomatic posts
overseas.
for the
overseas the more
all support and help we
After a
a period of some uncertainty, the decision has now been taken by the British Council not to raise charges support services provided for our scheme by its offices. This is a welcome decision which is appreciated because of the excellent receive from many Council offices throughout the world. We will of
course continue to pay, as we always have, for the indispensable British Council courier reception service arriving scholars and for English language testing of candidates
overseas.
Applications, Awards and Arrivals (Table 1)
4.
5.
for
The closing date for applications each year is 30 September therefore the 145 applications shown at Annex, Table 1, is the final total for 1992/93. Invitations to put forward candidates were sent to 65 countries and 42 of these did so. A total of 30 for various reasons eg.
or subsequently withdrew
applicants were either rejected ineligibility, inadequate English, themselves.
so far Trade-
Out of the remaining 115 'live' applications, 61 have been awarded scholarships, including 5 in response to target nominations by companies, but unfortunately 6 6 awardees subsequently withdrew for various reasons. All but 1 of the remaining 55 awardees are scheduled to arrive by 31 March 1993.
Comparison of 1992/93 Placement Record with Previous Years (Table 2)
6. The situation at the 7 month point is very similar to last year, except that we have had rather more post-award withdrawals than last year. Placement conditions SO far have been similar or marginally less good than last year and seem likely to remain the same until late 1993. Civil engineering design and construction has been virtually inaccessible but other sectors have held up remarkably well.
7.
There are a few good placement prospects still available from the 1992/93 applications and with the 93/94 applications expected to come in from early November
November there is reasonable expectation of that 80-85 scholarship awards will be made by 31 March 93.