Recognised by over 6000 institutes in 135 countries, International English Language Testing System (IELTS) is taken by 1.4 million candidates every year. A starting point for students aspiring to go overseas for higher education, IELTS has been available for over 20 years now.
Since last year, the British council has launched the British Council IELTS Scholarship Award with the objective of assisting Indian students to continue their postgraduate study at any university abroad.
“We have selected eight students from India, each of whom will receive an award of Rs. 3 lakh towards the cost of tuition fees,” said Deepika Subramaniam, head, exams marketing, British Council.
The award winners this year are, Apeksha Harsh, Dhusyant Dar, Jharna Vipin, Pallavi Lakshmikanth, Namratha Sarmah, Rajagopal Kannadiputur Subramanian, Sayan Supratim Das and Shivangi Shah.
The award winners will begin a full-time postgraduate programme at any overseas university that uses IELTS for its admission requirement as a reliable measure of English language proficiency. Interestingly, this year's award winners have all chosen to study in the UK.
“The 2011 IELTS scholarship attracted extremely high quality applications from across India, making the selection process even more difficult than the previous year,” says Ms. Subramaniam.
“Fifty four candidates were selected in the first round of selection process that involves submission of 300 words essay on a given topic. From this, the eight winners were selected based on the presentation they made on the topic they chose (from three topics given to them) and on a personal interview,” said Sarah Deverall, first secretary (Educational Services), British Council.
"Our rigorous selection process ensures that the best minds get this award and go out of India to pursue their higher education," said Mike Nithavrianakis, British Deputy High Commissioner to South India.
“The award is not just for recognition of excellence but it is also a way to bridge India-U.K. relationship. The number of Indian students going to the U.K. is strong as there are plenty of opportunities. India has a competitive education system in place and produces world-class brains. Such award encourages hi-potential youth of India to excel,” he said.
