UK pauses 3 Chevening fellowships for 2027-28 citing budget cuts

The Story in Brief

The British government has paused three short-term Chevening fellowships for mid-career professionals for 2027-28, citing capacity constraints and cost-cutting. The programmes affected are the Chevening Research, Science and Innovation Leadership Fellowship (CRISP), the Chevening Cyber Security Fellowship, and the South Asia Journalism Programme (SAJP). CRISP and the cyber security fellowship will halt for one year while the portfolio is reviewed; SAJP is paused due to host university capacity issues and is expected to resume in 2028, the British High Commission confirmed. The Chevening team is seeking industry sponsorship to restart some programmes.

The fellowships target professionals from India, Sri Lanka, the Western Balkans, and South Asian countries. Chevening Scholarships (full Master's funding) remain open for 2027-28 applications. In 2025-26, the Foreign Office allocated £59.4 million to Chevening. The alumni network includes 22 current or former heads of state and 10 serving ambassadors. Scholarship numbers have declined from 1,650 in 2017-18 to 1,401 in 2024-25, The Hindu reports.