The U.K. government has paused short-term fellowships offered for mid-career professionals under the prestigious Chevening programme for one year. The Chevening Research, Science and Innovation Leadership Fellowship (CRISP), the Chevening Cyber Security Fellowship, and the Chevening South Asia Journalism Programme (SAJP) have been paused for the year of 2027-28 for varying reasons, including capacity constraints and cost-cutting.

“Chevening CRISP and Chevening Cyber Security Fellowships will pause for one year while we review and strengthen our fellowship portfolio,” the sources said.

The CRISP fellowship is a 12-week programme for scientists, researchers and entrepreneurs hosted by the University of Oxford. The Chevening Cyber Security Fellowship is a 10-week programme delivered at Cranfield University, a part of the U.K.’s Defence Academy. The SAJP is an eight-week programme hosted by the University of Westminster for mid-career journalists.

“We are currently reviewing and strengthening our fellowship portfolio to ensure it continues to deliver the greatest impact and value for participants and partners. As part of this process, some programmes will pause in 2027,” a British High Commission spokesperson confirmed in response to The Hindu’s queries.

“The SAJP will pause for the 2027 cycle due to capacity constraints at the host university, and is expected to resume in 2028,” the sources said.

CRISP focusses on fellows from India and Sri Lanka; the Cyber Security Fellowship is offered to Indians, and citizens of the Western Balkans; the SAJP is one-of-a-kind programme that brings together journalists from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Afghanistan, and the Maldives.

The Chevening team is exploring industry sponsorship for CRISP and the Cyber Security Fellowship, and welcomes suggestions and potential partners.

“We expect to provide an update on the Chevening Gurukul Fellowship (September-November 2027) cohort by early November 2026, and are currently exploring sponsorship opportunities for this programme too,” sources said. The Gurukul Fellowship, also hosted at the University of Oxford, is a 12-week programme targeting mid-career Indian professionals across sectors, including government, media, and civil society.

Data tabled in the U.K. Parliament show that in financial year 2025-26, the U.K.’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) allocated £59.4 million to Chevening. A break-up of the funding split between fellowships and scholarships is not available in the public domain. The Hindu’s query to the British High Commission on this went unanswered. 

“Through corporate partner income and university partnerships, Chevening receives between £6-7 million annually, funding 22% of scholars,” the U.K.’s then Secretary of State for the FCDO stated in a policy paper presented in the U.K. Parliament in 2023.

The U.K. government launched the Chevening Fellowships in 2004 as an extension of the broader Chevening Scholarships, which were established in 1983. For 2027-28, applications for Chevening Scholarships, which offer a fully funded Masters in the U.K., have opened.

The Chevening programmes function as an instrument of soft diplomacy for the U.K. By selecting high-potential international professionals to study in the U.K. on the FCDO’s fully-funded programme, the U.K. government aims to cultivate influential global networks that advance British foreign policy interests.

“Many of the Chevening’s alumni are in positions of influence, and they form a valuable network for furthering His Majesty’s Government’s objectives,” a policy paper on the programme states.

A statement made to the U.K. Parliament said that Chevening’s 60,000-strong alumni community includes 22 current or former heads of state or government, about 15% alumni hold prominent positions in government, and 10 are currently serving as Ambassadors/High Commissioners in the U.K.

“We recognise this will be disappointing news for those who were hoping to apply, but we hope to be able to provide an update on future plans for the programmes soon,” the sources said.

In 2010, the U.K. government had announced a cut of £10 million from the scholarships budget amidst wider budget cuts, which resulted in the cancellation of several scholarships for 2010-11. From a high of 1,650 Chevening Scholarships awarded in 2017-18, the number has seen a decrease in 2020-21 (1,630 scholarships), 2021-22 (1,396), 2022-23 (1,359), 2023-24 (1,332), and 2024-25 (1,401), according to data tabled in the U.K. Parliament.

Published - August 11, 2026 10:20 pm IST