In what has been billed as “the largest of its kind”, India has started a major fully-funded fellowship programme at the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) for students coming from the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries. This PhD fellowship programme of Rs. 300 crore, will find the entire cost of study and living expenses of students from 10 ASEAN countries for a period of upto five years at any of India’s premier engineering institutions- the IITs. The fellowship programme which will start from next year, whereby the Indian government will find 1,000 students- 250 this year, 300 in the next year and 450 in the third year from the ASEAN countries over three batches. The application process for the fully-funded PhD programme has already begun.
IIT Delhi has been designated by the HRD Ministry to co-ordinate the fellowship programme. The institute has developed a web portal for the purpose of online applications for the PhD programmes by students. The students have the liberty of choosing from any of the 23 IITs spread all over the country. Apart from providing for the cost of living and study, the fully funded PhD programme also provides an additional contingency fund to take care of expenses such as travel and expenses. The students under this fellowship programme will be entitled to a stipend of Rs. 31,000 for the first two years and Rs. 35,000 for the next three years.
A research grant of upto Rs. 1.7 lakh will also be available under this fellowship programme apart from a monthly accommodation allowance depending upon the city in question. The first batch will commence from 2020. The interested ASEAN students will require a student visa for this fellowship programme and the last date of application will be October 31.
This is going to greatly boost the quality of university education in India and the inclusion of more international students in the IITs will help the premier institutes in improving their world rankings. It must be noted that as of now there is no Indian institution among the top 100 or top 150 institutions of the QS world university ranking 2020. Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay improved its ranking by moving up 10 places to the 152nd spot from the 162nd last year. But the two other institutions (IIT Delhi and IISc Bangalore) witnessed a drop in the table. IIT Delhi slid to 182nd from 172nd while IISc Bangalore also moved down to 184th rank from 170th. Therefore, there is a need for improvement in the global ranking of India’s universities. When it comes to academic prowess and overall quality, the inclusion of international students can prove to be a turning point. It might just help the leading academic institutions to make it among the top 100 institutions.
It is also going to prove a well-planned diplomatic move. India already shares close ties with the ASEAN countries. Now, this move emerges as a major goodwill measure towards the ASEAN countries. It shows India’s promise and commitment towards better relations with the ASEAN countries. It will also help India in emerging as a major destination for higher education. This move will make the IITs across India an attractive destination for ASEAN students and it can be expected that gradually it will help these premier institutes in the engineering and technology segment to emerge as a global destination for higher education.
