India announces scholarships for NRI students in Saudi Arabia

India has announced a scholarship programme of as many as 100 grants for students of Indian origin in Saudi Arabia who are willing to pursue under graduate courses in several disciplines in their home country. The Indian Consulate in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, has announced the details of a scholarship scheme offering 100 scholarships to assists children of Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) and Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) in pursuing under graduate courses in several disciplines ranging from science, economics, law, architecture, humanities, media studies, management, hospitality, and Agriculture/ animal husbandry.

The scheme “Scholarship Programme for Diaspora Children” (SPDC) was launched by the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs in 2006-07. The eligibility of candidates applying for the scholarship would be judged on the basis of their performance in an qualifying examination (equivalent to plus 2 stage in India). The programme is open only to PIOs/NRIs from the specified 40 countries, including Saudi Arabia, having a larger concentration of Indian Diaspora.

The amount of scholarship admissible would be 75 per cent of the total Institutional Economic Cost (IEC) or $ 4,000 per annum, whichever is less. IEC includes tuition fee, hostel fee and other institutional charges. According to a Consulate statement, NRI candidates would be eligible for the grant of the scholarship only if their total family income per month does not exceed an amount equivalent to $ 2,250.

“Children of NRIs should have pursued at least three years of education, inclusive of 11th and 12th or equivalent (not beyond), in a foreign country during the last six years, and should have passed the qualifying examination abroad. The last date for receipt of duly filled-in application forms in the prescribed format by Ed.CIL is 18th June,” it said. Ed.CIL (Educational Consultants India Limited), established in 1981, is a Government of India enterprise under the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD).

Source: The Economic Times (Online Edition), June 12, 2012

University of Westminster offers largest scholarship scheme in UK

The University of Westminster, based in the heart of London, is among UK’s leading international universities. The university is already a popular destination for Indian students, and offers an extensive choice of over 300 courses, which include architecture, biotechnology, communication, computer science, design, fashion, international business, journalism, law, management, multimedia, photographic studies, software engineering, tourism management, urban design and many more. Recently the university was in news as it tied up with various Indian educational institutions. When in Delhi, Myszka Guzkowska, the Pro-Vice Chancellor of the University of Westminster, met with FE’s Vikram Chaudhary and shared the university’s India plans. Excerpts:

How is the University of Westminster promoting itself in India?
As a beginning, we are taking a strategic approach, which is to explore opportunities in the metro cities and then go to smaller ones. As one of the leading London-based universities, we are focusing on partnerships with leading Indian educational institutions.

Which all institutes have you partnered with as of now?
We have recently partnered with the VIT University (Vellore Institute of Technology), with which we signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) – a progression agreement 1+1 at PG level for School of Life Sciences. In addition, we signed a MoU with the Prathyusha Institute of Technology and Management (PITAM), affiliated to Anna University, where discussions on in the field of electronics and computer science. Then we signed a MoU with the Jamia Millia Islamia University, New Delhi. We also have tie-ups with Shobhit University, Meerut, and Jawaharlal University of Technology, Hyderabad.

What is your operational base in Delhi all about?
We are demonstrating our commitment to India by opening a fully operational base in Delhi. The university’s locally based team will provide a registration and help centre for prospective Indian students and develop Indian academic, governmental, corporate and alumni partnerships.

What kind of scholarships do you provide?
The University of Westminster offers the largest scholarship scheme in the UK, with extensive provisions designed to attract the best students from across the world. In keeping with its plans to build a stronger Indian presence, the university is significantly expanding its Indian scholarship programme. A distinct feature of these scholarships is that they are made on the condition that, on graduation, students return to work in India.

What is your partnership with Jamia Millia Islamia all about?
We have announced a strategic partnership between our School for Media, Arts and Design, and Jamia Millia Islamia’s AJK Mass communication Research Institute. The new partnership will begin with sharing experience and expertise in teaching practice-based film and photography courses at the post-graduate and PhD levels.

You also plan to launch Indian alumni association …
Yes we are launching an Indian Alumni Association, which will have the primary objective of promoting strong relationships between its alumni, current students, faculty and the university as a whole. I would like to add that the University of Westminster has a distinguished 170-year history, and is focused on providing students with a world-class education and the best opportunities. Students who embark on studying at the University of Westminster will not only receive the benefits of excellent teachers, a supportive learning environment and a genuinely international experience in one of the world’s most dynamic cities, but will also be welcomed into our prestigious global alumni network.

Source: The Financial Express, April 9, 2012

>Four Indian students win Gates Scholarship at Cambridge

>Four Indian students are among 60 from 29 countries who have been awarded the prestigious Gates Scholarship for postgraduate studies at the Cambridge University. Describing them as the “world’s most brilliant students,” the university said they were selected from among the several thousands who applied for the scholarship set up in 2000. Funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, it enables academically gifted postgraduates with a strong interest in social leadership and responsibility to study at Cambridge.

Professor Robert Lethbridge, Provost (CEO) of the Gates Cambridge Trust, said: “This is an outstanding group of young men and women with a wide range of backgrounds, interests and career trajectories; what binds them together is a desire to ‘give back’ by using their education and leadership to tackle global problems and improve the lives of others. We are sure they will make significant contributions in the future.”

Sukrit Silas from Delhi will study for a Ph.D. in Pathology as would Bangalore-born Divya Venkatesh. Raghu Mahajan from Chandigarh will do Part 3 of the Mathematical Tripos and hopes to go on to do a Ph.D. in Theoretical Physics while Anand Shrivastava, a product of IIT Madras, will study for an M.Phil. in Economics.

Source: The Hindu, April 12, 2011

>High-tech visas help fund scholarships, anti-fraud

>A group that backs a visa program designed to bring high-skilled foreign workers to the US reports that some of the approximately US$ 3 billion in visa fees paid by employers has gone to science and math scholarships, US worker training and anti-fraud activities. A report issued this week by the National Foundation for American Policy points to the use of fees for such programs as a reason to maintain the visa program. The foundation supports policies allowing businesses to hire foreign workers.

The money has paid for 58,000 student scholarships distributed by the National Science Foundation and for 100,000 US workers to get training through the Labor Department, says the report. Some opponents claim the visas cost Americans jobs. H-1B visas allow foreigners to work in the United States. The visas are temporary, good for up to six years and can lead to a permanent residency permit, known as a green card, if an employer sponsors the worker.

Businesses maintain they are important for bringing needed skills that cannot be found in the US and are necessary because waits for green cards, which provide legal residency, are too long. “In addition to being required to pay professionals on H-1B visas the same wage as a comparable US worker, the H1-B fees, the legal costs, the staff time and the uncertainty of the immigration process demonstrate the employers really need these individuals and they’re complementing the US workforce rather than taking jobs from US workers,” said Stuart Anderson, the foundation’s Executive Director.

The organization’s report was issued the same week a House of Representatives subcommittee plans a hearing on the H1-B visas. It is one in a series that the subcommittee has had about immigration as Republicans in the majority try to build support for tougher immigration enforcement amid the slumping US economy and continued high unemployment rates.

Other hearings have covered the need for a system that can check whether a person is working legally in the US, the Obama administration’s preference for auditing employers who hire illegal immigrants rather than conducting more expensive raids and on whether immigrants are taking jobs from American minorities.

According to Anderson’s report, businesses that use visas have paid $2.3 billion in scholarship/work training fees and more than $700 million in anti-fraud fees. They also pay visa adjudication fees, can pay fees to get the visa processed more efficiently, legal fees and costs associated with paperwork for dependent family of the worker.

H-1Bs have been criticized as allowing employers to replace American workers with cheaper employees. Thursday’s hearing was expected to include discussion of fraud problems in the H-1B program. High-tech companies have lobbied heavily for limiting restrictions on H-1B visas and increasing the numbers available.

Source: The Economic Times, March 31, 2011