Bursary Recipients

In 2015 the Bursary Fund received 31 applications from which 28 offers of assistance were made.

22 were able to attend the conference.

Bursary Experiences

Rosemary Bosu
University of Cape Coast, Ghana
My participation in a well-acclaimed conference such as UKFIET provided me with a platform for exchange of ideas and that widen my knowledge on issues related to student learning from an international perspective. I obtained some ideas on best practices related to university teaching. I also had the opportunity to link up with faculty from universities in other countries.
I was especially pleased to meet professors with whom I had worked with on collaboration projects in Ghana in 2010. It was great to be able to meet again. This experience not only contributed to my personal professional development, but also to the quality of my teaching and supervision at the university. I also obtained some books needed for my work and participated in discussions in my interest areas of approaches to educational planning and administration in resource-constrained settings that facilitate sustainable learning systems. Most importantly it gave me the opportunity to widen my network of faculty and friends. The bursary really did enable me attend and help me have the chance to have suitable accommodation on the campus of Oxford, that was great.  It was a very fruitful experience that I am looking forward for an opportunity to having it again.

Rosemary presented her paper All I need is to pass my exams: the dilemma of using a learner-centered teaching approach in Ghanaian universities at the conference.

 
Sonia Languille
Open Society Foundations, Higher Education Support Programme

In 2015, I was honoured to receive a bursary to attend the UKFIET conference held in Oxford. At that time, I was a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Johannesburg where I was conducting a research on the rise of low-fee for-profit private schools in South Africa. Unfortunately, the University of Johannesburg did not set aside funding to support the participation of its postdoctoral research fellows to national or international conferences. The bursary – a waiver of the registration fees – greatly helped me to attend the conference. I presented my initial research findings in a panel focused on the topic of private schooling. It gave me the opportunity to confront my work with similar research conducted in other parts of the world but through different theoretical and empirical perspectives. The presentations and the feed-back from the audience helped me refine my own research. In 2016 I finally published an article in the Oxford Review of Education that was directly based on this initial paper. As a fresh researcher, who had recently completed her PhD, the participation to the conference represented an invaluable way to build up networks. As a bursary recipient, I was also invited to a diner that gathered all bursary recipients and some members of the UKFIET trust committee. This was a unique opportunity to exchange on my work with both my peers and prominent scholars in the field. I am very grateful to the Committee for this support.

Sonia presented her paper ‘Low-cost’ private school chains for the poor and the rise of edu-capitalism in South Africa at the conference.

 
Kaleb Kelemu
Agricultural economics, extension and Gender Research Directorate, Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research

I was extremely happy when the bursary committee accepted my application to grant me  the bursary that enabled me to attend the 2015 UKFIET conference that was held at Oxford University. My participation on the conference helped me get the following:

• I was able to see in person distinguished and prominent scientists and professors who I known by their publications and I had a chance to talk to them in person and exchange ideas;
• Many papers were presented and I was able to get many ideas, experiences from people around the world; I got more in depth understanding on informal education, livelihoods and development.
• It was indeed a pleasure and privilege for me to present a paper in one of the world class universities in front of prominent professors, professionals, and different individuals who have enormous experience in field of education, research and development;

I have to take this opportunity to acknowledge the organizing committee for giving me the opportunity to participate on the conference and special thank goes to Sarah Jeffery for wonderful support to facilitate my trip and whole stay in Oxford.

Kaleb presented his paper Understanding how rural youth learn knowledge and skills for improved livelihoods: comparing case studies of mixed farming and pastoralist communities in Ethiopia at the conference.

Purnima Ramanujan
ASER Centre (Pratham Education Foundation), India

Being accepted to present a paper at the 13^th UKFIET International Conference 2015 was an extremely prestigious and important opportunity for me. However, working in a non-profit, educational research organisation in India, I was also worried about funding my trip and it was only through the generous support of the UKFIET bursary award that I could attend and participate in this conference.

The three days of UKFIET 2015 were filled with insights and interactions! I was presenting from a longitudinal study on early childhood education in India and gained immensely from the feedback of the audience. Some of the questions and conversations that I had with participants have developed into separate pieces of research that I continue to engage with currently. I also benefit greatly from attending a wide array of sessions on topics ranging from low-cost private schooling models, assessment frameworks in education, using data to guide equitable policy-making and education in conflict as well as networking with researcher and peers from across the world.

The UKFIET conference was an excellent platform to not just share my work but also meet researchers and scholars from around the world, many of whom I have followed for my own work. I am grateful to the UKFIET bursary committee for having supported me and other researchers in 2015. The availability of such awards is of immense value to less fortunate researchers, development professionals and organisations. I wish the organising committee the best for UKFIET 2017 and trust that it will be as engaging as previous conferences!

In 2015, Purnima presented her paper ‘Where are the four-year olds? Preschool participation and learning outcomes in India’

Craig Paxton

University of Cape Town

My experience at UKFIET 2015 was outstanding in a number of ways: from the bursary dinner sitting in a venerable old Oxford hall, rubbing shoulders with education luminaries whose work I’d read and cited; to the high calibre presentations from around the world; to the opportunity to present my own work as a young researcher; to the valuable contacts made over tea. I’m deeply grateful for the opportunity the bursary afforded me – as a developing country researcher based at a small non-profit, travel and attendance at high quality conferences like this would simply not be affordable otherwise. My experiences at UKFIET 2015 opened doors for me.

Craig presented his paper Growing sustainable rural schools in South Africa at the conference.