Applications invited for Dr Manmohan Singh Scholarships 2015

Applications for the 2015 Dr Manmohan Singh Scholarships, a unique programme which enables Indian students to pursue doctoral studies at St John’s College, University of Cambridge, are now open. Details, including information about how to apply, can be found here.

The scholarship programme was first set up 2007 and is named in honour of Dr Manmohan Singh, the former Prime Minister of India, who stepped down from the role earlier this year and is an alumnus of St John’s. It is open to Indian students currently based in India who have an interest in subjects such as Science and Technology, Economics and Social Sciences.

As well as academic excellence, the candidates are expected to demonstrate leadership potential in order to meet the expectation that Dr Manmohan Singh Scholars will go on to become leading achievers and opinion-formers within Indian society.

In return, recipients are given full funding for their doctoral studies at Cambridge. The scholarship covers fees, living expenses, the cost of their international airfare, and the UK Visa. Short-listed candidates undergo personal interviews in India before the final selection is made. Complete details about the process can be found on the scholarship website.

Dr Manmohan Singh was a student at St John’s in the late 1950s, where he graduated with a First in Economics, and has since maintained close connections with the College and the University as a whole. He received an Honorary Doctorate from Cambridge in October 2006. Launching the scholarship programme a year later, he described the importance of such initiatives as being critical to the nation’s growth, commenting: “We are a nation of young people. Once unleashed, the energy of our youth will drive India on to a new growth path.”

The University as a whole has long and close ties with India, and many of the country’s leading politicians, academics and businesspeople are alumni. St John’s has had particularly extensive associations with India over the years, dating back to when one of its first Indian students, Nurul Huda, graduated with a law degree from the College in 1881. He went on to practice in the High Court in Calcutta.

Since then the College has produced numerous other distinguished Indian alumni who have made significant contributions to their own nation and others. Sir Raghunath Paranjpye, statesman and diplomat, became the first Indian Fellow of St John’s in 1901. Other notable alumni include Nagendra Singh (President of the International Court of Justice, 1985-88), Vikram Sarabhai (Chairman of the Indian Atomic Energy Commission and Space Research Organisation) and Jagdish Bhagwati (Arthur Lehman Professor of Economics at Columbia University).

Complete details about the scholarship programme are available now on the St John’s College website.