20 July 2009

Sheffield student wins prestigious Commonwealth Award

A student from the University of Sheffield has been selected for the prestigious Round Table Commonwealth Awards for Young Scholars.

Asa Cusack, an MA student in the Department of Politics at the University, is one of six students in the UK who have been selected for the awards.

As part of the Round Table´s centenary celebrations, the awards support exceptional students who focus on a Commonwealth perspective in their research. Each successful candidate will receive a £1,000 award, a three-week research grant to visit another country and the opportunity to have their final work published in Britain´s oldest international affairs journal.

Asa will travel to Jamaica to complete his existing research. His work considers the role of ideas in the creation of regional economic and political units, and focuses particularly on the Caribbean. He will produce a comparative study of Jamaica's membership of CARICOM and the Commonwealth and consider politico-economic, and ideological reasons for membership.

Dr. Venkat Iyer, Editor of the Round Table, said: "I am delighted that, in its 100th year, the Round Table is supporting six exceptional students who will introduce a Commonwealth perspective into their existing research. This year is also the 60th anniversary of the modern Commonwealth, and with 60% of the Commonwealth's population under 30 years of age, the Round Table believes that it is essential to help students understand the relevance of the Commonwealth as a values-based organisation. We´re very grateful to the UK´s Foreign and Commonwealth Office for its generous sponsorship of this scheme and we look forward very much to seeing the award-winners' work."

Asa said: "I am pleased and surprised to have been chosen out of so many applicants for the award, from universities all over the UK, and from countries all over the Commonwealth. I´m delighted to have a chance to publish something in the Round Table, the UK's oldest journal of international affairs, and to have the opportunity to visit Jamaica for my research. Whilst I´m there, I will be speaking to politicians and civil servants about the Caribbean Community project and its slow advance towards political union. I'll try to understand the recurrent problems that come up and how the Commonwealth is involved in the process."