scholarships for Cambridge students

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday launched the “Dr Manmohan Singh Scholarships” for doctoral studies to be undertaken at St John’s College in University of Cambridge.

This scholarship, which is sponsored by Rolls Royce, Tatas and the BP Foundation, would fund four students annually and each student would get £35,000 annually for meeting various expenses.

Launching the scholarship, the Prime Minister, who studied in Cambridge, recounted his own experience and said “my life is a living example of what scholarships can do for those who come from less-privileged sections of society”.

He also said given his “modest background”, the fact that he was able to “study at all, not to mention at Cambridge” was a “testimony to the role of scholarships”.

scholarships for Cambridge students

Nat Puri, philanthropic businessman, launches engineering scholarship

London, Dec 6 - Millionaire businessman Nat Puri, a self-effacing Punjabi who donates half a million pounds to charities every year, is setting up a scholarship for Indian engineering students to study in the London university where he first made his mark.

The Nat Puri Scholarship, which will bring Indians to London South Bank University, is aimed at giving Indian scholars the financial opportunities that Puri himself never had when he first came to Britain from Chandigarh in 1966.

'I didn't get any scholarships, and I didn't have the courage to ask my family for money,' Puri told IANS.

'I checked soccer pool coupons in London on Saturdays and Sundays, and I lived in a rented bedsit. It wasn't the best of lives, but it helped me,' said the man who was listed by the Daily Telegraph newspaper last year as among the 20 wealthiest Asians in Britain.

'My purpose is just to be helpful,' said Puri, who founded the Nottingham-based Purico Group of companies and is valued at 100 million pounds (about $203 million or Rs.8 billion).

The scholarship will begin in October 2008, and may later be expanded to include students from other Commonwealth countries as well.

Puri trained as an engineer at London South Bank University and eventually bought the firm that gave him his first job. He built it up into the Melton Medes group, a packaging-to-plastics conglomerate with sales of 100 million pounds.
He said that although Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) were 'doing a fantastic job', they did not have enough places.
'For every IIT admission, there are 10,000 applications,' he said, adding: 'People cannot afford to study abroad, not even people who are in jobs.'

Last week Puri was honoured by his alma mater with an honorary degree of Doctor of Engineering in the presence of Lord Navnit Dholakia of the Liberal Party, former chancellor of the Exchequer Kenneth Clarke and Home Office Minister Vernon Coaker.

Conferring the honour, London South Bank Vice Chancellor Prof. Deian Hopkin said: 'Nat Puri has a certain style of doing things his way. He does it all in his own manner, often defying conventional logic but proving the success of real entrepreneurship.'

'He is a great role model for our own students, proof that through education and endeavour one can achieve anything but also through philanthropy, return the rewards of that achievement to society.'

Nat Puri, philanthropic businessman, launches engineering scholarship

Aditya Birla Group Scholarships

The ABGS package

The Aditya Birla Group Scholarship covers the academic fees as well as the hostel fees for the duration of the course, commencing with the academic session of the first year.The value of the scholarship for various institutions is as under:

IIM:
Rs 1,75,000 per annum

IIT / BITS (Pilani):
Rs 65,000 per annum

Since the scholarship covers the entire course, scholars are entitled to a refund of any amounts they may have paid to their institute, prior to the commencement of the scholarship.The scholarship funds are administered by the dean/director of the institution. All funds are sent directly to them for appropriate disbursal.The performance of the scholars is monitored closely for renewal of the award every year. Performance assessment criteria for the renewal of the scholarshipThe Aditya Birla Scholars are assessed regularly on qualitative and quantitative parameters to judge their performance on the academic and leadership front. This assessment forms the basis for determining the continuation of the scholarship for the next academic session.For the IIMs, the assessment is done once in a one-year time frame.For the IITs and for BITS (Pilani), the assessment is done thrice in a three-year time frame.Assessment criteria:

Scholastic standards: The scholar must be in the top 25 per cent of students in his/her batch
Work done by the scholar during the course of the programme: At least 60 per cent of the assignments must have a rating of at least 7 on a 9-point scale

Practical work-related experiences of the scholar: Summer project must have a rating of at least 7 on a 9-point scale
Participation in campus activities: Active participation in a minimum of two forums on campus
Learning: Scholar has to write a 350-word essay on "Being an Aditya Birla scholar: experience sharing"

NB: The documents for the performance measurement have to be submitted by the scholar and certified by the academic dean at the institute. The assessment will be based on overall performance in all areas. No single factor will be a major determinant.

For more information, please visit:
http://www.adityabirlascholars.net/

Aditya Birla Group Scholarships