India offers 1,000 PhD fellowships to Asean

INDIA has offered 1,000 PhD fellowships for Asean students to study at prestigious Indian Institutes for Technology (IITs).

At a budget of $45 million, the programme is set to be the largest Indian capacity development initiative in partnership with the Asean bloc.

Indian higher education secretary R Subrahmanyam said in a press release: “The first batch of Asean students will be admitted in the January 2020. Admissions under the fellowships will be staggered over three academic years.”

The press release further said that the [Indian] Ministry of Human Resource Development will provide scholarships to Asean students at par with Indian PhD scholars, along with a yearly research grant, as applicable.

“IITs will make a small provision to cover living expenses of selected students from their budgetary resources,” it said.

Subrahmanyam said the initiative will fund 250 scholars this year, 300 next year and 450 in 2021.

IITs are public universities that are fully funded by the government of India. They regularly rank as among the best in the world. There are 23 IITs across India that Asean students will be eligible to apply for.

Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport spokesman Ros Soveacha told The Post that the ministry publicises, regional and international scholarships to students through the Cultural Relations and Scholarship Department.

More than 231 people shared the news just two hours after the ministry posted the details of the fellowships on their official Facebook page.

Thlang Sikheng, who earned an MBA from India in 2009, told The Post that the scholarship was a wonderful opportunity for Cambodian students to study at some of the world’s most prestigious academic institutions.

“Human resource development is necessary and vital no matter what field it’s in, just as long as Cambodian students have access [too].

“This time, [we] see that it is open to all of Asean, which is even better. This is a new approach from India as it views Asean as a long-term partner,” Sikheng said.

Applications can be submitted from September 17 to October 31. Those interested can apply for PhD programmes of their choice at asean.iitd.ac.in.