Telangana Government, British Council partner for study programme at University of Glasgow

NEW DELHI: The Government of Telangana and the British Council announced a residential short-term certificate course in the UK for 15 meritorious students from the state, under the Scholarships for Outstanding Undergraduate Talent (SCOUT) programme by GREAT.

As a part of this initiative, 15 undergraduate-level students along with two faculty members from Telangana will be hosted by the University of Glasgow in March and April 2023 for a two-week short-term certified course on ‘How to be More Rational: Critical Thinking, Logic and Reasoning’.

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The short course will help in developing the academic and research skills of the students and will allow them to gain interdisciplinary knowledge through new pedagogical methods. The activity will also enable students to impact their own local community, institutions and future workplaces through their learning.

The initiative has been designed to provide exposure and skills to talented young students who have limited means to access or experience international education and inspire them towards world-class innovation and research.

Navin Mittal, IAS Commissioner of Collegiate, Technical and Intermediate Education; Rahul Bojja, IAS Secretary, SCD, Hyderabad; Donna Gall, Senior International Officer at University of Glasgow and Janaka Pushpanathan, Director South India, British Council addressed the gathering at an event to launch the programme.

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The official release reads: "As part of the arrangement, the opportunity was extended to students pursuing their graduation from higher education institutions in Telangana and were selected based on their merit. The program will be funded by the GREAT campaign by the British Council and will cover the course fees, accommodation and other expenses for the students while in UK. The Government is funding the travel and visa costs for all students and faculty".

In a reciprocal arrangement, the Telangana government will reserve 5 master's scholarships for study in UK universities as part of their Chief Minister's Overseas Scholarship Scheme in the state.

Navin Mittal, IAS, Commissioner of Collegiate, Technical and Intermediate Education said, “Our objective is to make the state of Telangana the centre of cutting-edge knowledge by forging international collaboration, and we are particularly pleased that the Govt of Telangana is deepening its ties with UK, to achieve our goals. We are excited about this new programme which complements our existing initiatives for merit-based student scholarships and are looking forward to the impact it will have on the talented individuals we have handpicked from across the State. We expect that such engagements and the ongoing work of the British Council will lead to innovation and better educational output, which will have a significant influence on student employability in Telangana.”

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Janaka Pushpanathan, Director South India, British Council, said, "The State of Telangana and the UK together have been working on various initiatives in education. British Council is delighted to work with the state government towards accelerating the creation of mutually beneficial programmes which in turn helps in achieving the state’s knowledge goals. With this collaboration, our aim is to provide a platform to students where they gain global exposure and a networking opportunity while enhancing their skills and knowledge in a globally renowned university. In addition, we are pleased to note that all the 15 students receiving this merit-based scholarship are young women. We wish them great success in the future.”

Rachel Sandison, Deputy Vice Chancellor, External Engagement and Vice Principal External Relations at University of Glasgow, added, “We are delighted to be working in partnership with Higher Education colleagues from the Telangana region and the British Council, to provide this exciting opportunity for undergraduate students from the State. The University of Glasgow is incredibly proud of the relationship we have with our partners across India and are committed to supporting students who wish to study in the UK and Scotland. We look forward to welcoming the students to our #TeamUofG community in the Spring!.”