IIIT-Delhi Announces 60 “Sarojini Damodaran Overseas Research Fellowships”For PhD Students

NEW DELHI, APRIL 5: The Sarojini Damodaran Foundation, founded by Mrs. and Mr. Shibulalhas granted overseas research fellowships (ORF) to 60 PhD Scholars in IIIT-Delhi over the next 3 years.  The fellowship will be used to enable PhD students to spend six months collaborating with academia or industry researchers overseas.

The ORF scheme is designed to provide an opportunity to PhD scholars to work with international researchers and to offer them with an exposure to forthcoming trends in technology. The ORF program arranges for 6 months’ financial support to a PhD scholar.

Nineteen PhD scholars at the institute have received the overseas research fellowship from different funding resources over the last few years, most of whom went to the US, but some also went to UK, Europe and Singapore. These 19 students had unique learning experiences during their stay overseas. All of them reported an extremely enriching experience which helped them understand the global R&D scene better and also helped them realize that the work they are doing in their PhD is at par with their global peers. Most students expressed that the ORF allowed them to gain exposure to the research community abroad and broaden their perspectives not only professionally, but personally as well.

Speaking about this expansion of ORF, the Director Prof. Pankaj Jalote said, “Research has always had a global perspective. But the research eco-systems of countries like the US and Europe are much larger and much more developed. An experience of working in such eco-systems can be truly enriching for a scholar from India, and can help him/her widen the perspective and also benchmark his/her work with what is happening globally. It also helps them understand the value of hard work and rigor, and develop capabilities for global collaboration, which will become increasingly important in times to come. This grant from the Sarojini Damodaran Foundation is a big boost to our ORF program.”

Kumari Shibulal, Managing Trustee, Sarojini Damodaran Foundation said, “Research and development is critical for an economy to remain globally competitive. While India’s talent is top notch, it falls behind where research is concerned. For our products to be globally competitive, our problems require local solutions. That will lead to true innovation. We believe that global exposure is extremely important to appreciate our own local opportunities. The Sarojini Damodaran Overseas Research Fellowship in partnership with IIIT Delhi, is a step in that direction.”