Telangana Government partners with British Council for a student study program at the University of Glasgow

• The program is under the ‘Scholarships for Outstanding Undergraduate Talent (SCOUT)’ scheme by GREAT, for the Government of Telangana
• 15 students at the undergraduate level in the state of Telangana have been selected to pursue a short-term certificate course in the UK

HYDERABAD: British Council and the State of Telangana today 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) program by GREAT for the Government of Telangana. 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 toward world-class innovation and research.

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

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’. 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.

As part of the arrangement, the opportunity was extended to students pursuing their graduation from higher education institutions in Telangana who 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 the 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.

Shri. Navin Mittal, IAS, Commissioner of Collegiate, Technical & Intermediate Education said, “Our objective is to make the State of Telangana the center of cutting-edge knowledge by forging international collaboration, and we are particularly pleased that the Govt of Telangana is deepening its ties with the UK, to achieve our goals. We are excited about this new program which complements our existing initiatives for merit-based student scholarships and is 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.”

Shri. Rahul Bojja, IAS Secretary, SCD, Hyderabad, said, “We are always finding ways to keep at the cutting edge of teaching methodologies. This program too will support our efforts to deliver the best possible learning experience to our students. The State of Telangana and the British Council have collaborated very successfully over the past many years, working on extensive programs that have yielded phenomenal results allowing us to improve our quality of teaching and equipping our students. We look forward to more collaborations like this that will help us inspire young talented individuals across the state to realize their true potential.”

Janaka Pushpanathan, Director of 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 programs 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 & Vice Principal of External Relations at the 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!.”