Three get chance to study world’s best ideas – thanks to Fellowship
AN EX-PRISONER, a GP and an artist are among nine people from Yorkshire who have been awarded Churchill Fellowships, allowing them to travel the world to research the world’s best ideas.
The once-in-a-lifetime opportunity enables people to do research abroad and bring back new ideas which can be to put into practice in the UK.
Ex-prisoner and social enterprise chief executive Jacob Hill, from Huddersfield, will travel to Brazil, Fiji and Singapore to research ways of reintegrating former inmates into communities as a way of reducing reoffending rates.
He said the award represented a “second chance to the 70,000 people released from prison every year”, adding: “It shows society that people with criminal convictions can significantly contribute to society, turn their life around and that everyone should be given
another chance to become a part of their community.”
Meanwhile, GP Sarah Mitchell, from Sheffield, plans to visit colleagues at the Universities of Calgary and McMaster in Canada, who are conducting world leading research in primary palliative care.
She hopes to publish her work in the British Journal of General Practice. She said: “The need for good palliative care is rising, as the numbers of people living with incurable conditions rises. Their conditions are often complex and unpredictable. The provision of palliative care is a fundamental part of my role as a GP, but in an under-resourced primary care system, this is becoming harder to do well.”
Artist Laura Page, also from Sheffield, will visit Colombia and Mexico to find out how increased access to art can improve mental well-being and create opportunities for communities.
The fellowships were set up in 1965, after the death of Winston Churchill, by a combination of public subscription and government contributions.
Anyone can apply, regardless of age, background or qualifications, as long as they are a UK citizen aged 18 or over.