‘99 Moonshots’: IIM Lucknow’s 1999 alumni launches fellowship grant to advance research among scholars

The Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Lucknow has announced the launch of ‘99 Moonshots’ fellowship grant by the batch of 1999, aiming to improve research productivity among doctoral scholars. IIM Lucknow's two PhD scholars have been recommended for the grant after a rigorous selection process.

Ayushi Singh from Operations and Supply Chain Management and Satish Kumar from Strategic Management have been shortlisted as the first recipients of this fellowship. The fellowship is funded by the institute’s Post-Graduate Program (PGP) Class of 1999 and supports IIM Lucknow’s vision of elevating its academic and research standing.

The selection process required the applicants to pitch their research proposal to a designated selection committee, where the proposals were evaluated on pre-defined criteria.

“Motivated to support their alma mater, the 1999 batch proposed this fellowship to strengthen high-quality research output at the Institute. Designed to empower promising doctoral scholars, the fellowship will provide advanced academic support, publication incentives, and conference participation opportunities,” the official IIM Lucknow statement said.

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IIM Lucknow’s fellowship grant

The fellowship grant by IIM Lucknow will also cover:

• A publication award of Rs 1 lakh for research published or accepted in top-tier (Category A and above) journals.
• A conference grant of Rs 3 lakh to enable scholars to present at leading international conferences.
• Academic support, including contingency and data-collection grants, in line with the PhD programme manual.

Additionally, to ensure academic progress, the awardees will have to present their research updates every 6 months to a monitoring committee comprising their Thesis Advisory Committee (TAC) and a representative from the 1999 batch.

Welcoming the initiative of IIM Lucknow’s director MP Gupta said, “I feel an immense pride in announcing the IIM Lucknow 1999 Batch Fellowship for PhD students, a meaningful initiative that reflects our alumni’s enduring commitment to advancing research excellence. Recognising Ayushi Singh and Satish Kumar as the first recipients sets a strong precedent for nurturing impactful scholarship,” the official IIM Lucknow statement said.