New Delhi:
Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur is launching a full
scholarship programme for students from the SAARC region. It will be open to full-time students across all levels—undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral studies—from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, the Maldives, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The institute will reach out to universities and embassies of these countries directly as well as through the ministry of external affairs starting this month for enrolment for 2019. The first batch of the programme will be open for 10 students with funding from
IIT Kharagpur alumnus and US-based petrochemical industrialist Asoke Dey Sarkar. The first edition, named the Asoke Dey Sarkar International Program, or ADSIP, will provide funding for the students’ airfare, tuition fee, living expenses, local transportation as well as medical insurance. “SAARC nations share a common heritage. We would like to know how students in neighbouring countries are gearing up to face the new challenges, what new things they are learning, what solutions they are coming up with,” said Baidurya Bhattacharya, dean of international relations at IIT Kharagpur. The students will be required to explore the courses and research areas and identify experts at IIT Kharagpur as mentors. In addition to formal application, they will be required to appear for a video interview. IIT Kharagpur will provide a transcript of the academic work to every visiting student along with the syllabus and pedagogical details.