New scholarship targets Indian students who've overcome adversity to secure success

NEW DELHI, March 13, 2023 /PRNewswire/ --  The University of Birmingham is launching a unique and prestigious new fully-funded scholarship, including accommodation expenses, for students in India – offering the winner a mentoring opportunity with the University's Chancellor Lord Karan Bilimoria and leading alumni.

The Lord Karan Bilimoria (Chancellor's) Scholarship will include a full tuition fee waiver and accommodation costs up to the duration of the programme for the winner, as well as four runner-up awards of a £5,000 tuition fee waiver.

The scholarship is only open to Indian students applying for postgraduate study programmes at the University's campuses in Birmingham and Dubai. Candidates must have a valid offer of study from the University of Birmingham.

Candidates should have an excellent academic track record and demonstrate that they have overcome challenging circumstances. They should also have an innovative idea that can solve some of the complex challenges facing both the UK and India. Successful applicants who reach the final round will be asked to submit a three-minute video answering two key questions:

• What challenges have you overcome in life?
• What innovation would you suggest to solve a challenge faced by India and the UK?

Launching the Scholarship, Lord Bilimoria commented: "I am hugely proud of the University of Birmingham's education partnerships in India and delighted to launch this exceptional opportunity to encourage outstanding individuals to join us – whether at our iconic new campus in Dubai or our beautiful historic campus in Birmingham.

"Our University's motto is 'per ardua ad alta' which translates as 'through adversity to high things'. This is a sentiment which inspires us, as we begin our search for scholarship candidates who have beaten the odds to achieve academic excellence and can demonstrate an innovative idea with the potential to solve any of the complex challenges facing both India and the UK.

"I look forward to meeting the successful candidate and it will be a particular pleasure to mentor them as they set out on their voyage of educational discovery with the University of Birmingham and become successful leaders."

Applications are now open and further details can be obtained from https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/funding/postgraduate/india-lord-karan-bilimoria-scholarship.aspx

The University's relationship with India dates to 1909 when the first cohort of Indian students arrived in Birmingham to study for degrees in Mining and Commerce. It now has more than 2,000 Indian alumni and some of India's most distinguished and finest minds were educated at Birmingham, including Mr Ajit Kumar Seth, 30th Cabinet Secretary of the Republic of India, and acclaimed writer and critic, the late Dr U R Ananthamurthy.  

The University of Birmingham has several significant partnerships in India, underpinned by its India Institute which aims to increase the visibility, impact and coherence of Birmingham's engagement in the country.

Alex Ellis, British High Commissioner to India, said: "I am delighted that the University of Birmingham is further strengthening its engagement in India with this scholarship. What a fantastic opportunity for the successful candidate in being mentored by an icon of UK-Indian business, Lord Bilimoria."

About The University of Birmingham  

• The University of Birmingham is a global top 100 university and a member of the elite Russell Group of UK universities. It was established by Queen Victoria in 1900 as Great Britain's first civic university, where students from all religions and backgrounds were accepted on an equal basis. Renowned for its research excellence, the University's researchers have received 10 Nobel Prizes. From pioneering organ transplants, discovering gravitational waves and furthering understanding of Shakespeare, to developing cures for cancer, advances in robotics and revealing the structure of DNA, the University has been at the forefront of some of the most ground-breaking discoveries of the last 100 years.  

• The University of Birmingham Dubai adheres to the same teaching standards and values as the Birmingham campus, bringing the heritage, prestige, and global recognition of the UK campus to Dubai. The University of Birmingham Dubai's iconic new campus will be embedded with cutting-edge technology, allowing innovative, multidisciplinary teaching, and learning to deliver an educational experience like no other in Dubai.    

• Lord  Karan Bilimoria is the founder of Cobra Beer, Chairman of the Cobra Beer Partnership Limited, a Joint Venture with Molson Coors, and Chairman of Molson Coors Cobra India. In the Monde Selection, one of the most prestigious quality awards in the world for beer, the Cobra range have collectively been awarded a total of 128 Gold and Grand Gold medals since 2001, making it one of the most awarded beers in the world. Lord Bilimoria is the Founding Chairman of the UK India Business Council, a Deputy Lieutenant of Greater London, a former Chancellor of Thames Valley University (now the University of West London); he was the youngest University Chancellor in the UK when appointed. Karan was a former Senior Non-Executive Director of the Booker Group now TESCO PLC (2007-2016); he is one of the first two visiting entrepreneurs at the University of Cambridge; he is a founding member of the Prime Minister of India's Global Advisory Council. In 2006, Karan Bilimoria was appointed the Lord Bilimoria of Chelsea, making him the first ever Zoroastrian Parsi to sit in the House of Lords.   In 2008 he was awarded the Pravasi Bharti Samman by the President of India. He is an Honorary Fellow of Sidney Sussex College Cambridge and was Chair of the Advisory Board of the Judge Business School, Cambridge University from 2015-2020 and subsequently appointed as an Honorary Ambassador.  

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