CCT/COT Director visits Islamic Development Bank headquarters
Michael O'Sullivan, Director of the Cambridge Commonwealth and Cambridge Overseas Trusts, visited the headquarters of the Islamic Development Bank in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, last week. CCT and COT formed a new partnership with the IDB in 2009, to provide opportunities for staff of research and education institutions in the IDB's 56 member countries to study for PhDs in Cambridge. The first three scholars came to Cambridge last October from Bangladesh, Nigeria and Pakistan, and a further seven scholars will arrive in October 2010.
The IDB helps its member countries achieve sustainable economic and social development, for example through acquisition of skills, capacity-building and infrastructure improvement. The IDB Cambridge scholarships focus on developing outstanding research professionals in high technology fields, who on graduation intend to return to work for the development of their own countries.
The programme enables Cambridge to make a greater contribution to international development, while enriching our student body with a wider range of international talent. As the programme develops, we shall particularly encourage applicaitons from well-qualified candidates in the least developed member countries of the IDB.
For more information about the programme, see www.isdb.org/irj/portal/anonymous and www.cambridgetrusts.org/partners/islamic-development-bank.html