Seeking: Next Batch Of Young India Fellows (YIF)
Admission process launched for second batch of Young India Fellowships (YIF), a unique education programme in association with the University Pennsylvania (Penn)
Online, October 19, 2011 (Newswire.com) - Admission process launched for second batch of Young India Fellowships (YIF), a unique education programme in association with the University Pennsylvania (Penn)
Online rolling application process gives first-round applicants chance of early local interview and selection for the fully funded one-year programme based in New Delhi
World-class faculty including Andre Beteille, Vivek Bhandari, Rudrangshu Mukherjee and Penn professors set to return for 2012 academic year
New Delhi, October 19, 2011:
APPLICATIONS open today for the second batch of Young India Fellowships (YIF), modelled after the Rhodes Scholarship. YIF is a one-year, fully funded residential scholarship where 50 recent graduates undertake a holistic, multi-disciplinary academic course and project-based internship aimed at grooming India's next generation of socially conscious leaders.
Top-level university graduates are encouraged to start applying online as early as possible for this path-breaking, post-graduate programme based in Delhi.
The course is designed and run in collaboration with the University of Pennsylvania (Penn), one of the seven Ivy League universities and consistently rated among the Top 5 universities in the world. Faculty are drawn from Penn as well as other leading universities in India, the US and the UK. It includes mentors such as Infosys founder, NR Narayana Murthy, HDFC chairman, Deepak Parekh, and others from India's top business houses.
Dean, Dr Pramath Raj Sinha, also founding dean of the Indian School of Business, said YIF was looking for India's brightest young people who want to make a difference and discover their true potential.
"I strongly encourage university graduates who have a vision to achieve at the highest level and who aspire to be change agents for India to apply for the Fellowship," he said. "We believe that YIF is unsurpassed in its ability to create tomorrow's leaders. YIF's multi-disciplinary academic course, its practical and focused internship project and the exposure the programme provides Fellows to some of India's and the world's finest thinkers and leaders is unrivalled."
Applications are invited from undergraduate and post-graduate students from diverse academic backgrounds and from across the country. The 2011 batch represents IITs, BITS Pilani, NALSAR, NID, NIFT, ILS, St. Xavier's Colleges in Mumbai and Kolkata, Lady Sri Ram College and Miranda House in Delhi, Christ College in Bengaluru and SRM University in Chennai, among others. They come from backgrounds as diverse as engineering, law, film-making, science and humanities, fine arts and commerce.
Information about the programme and application process will be communicated online as well as through presentations made by YIF representatives at more than 70 higher education institutions across the country.
"We have a rolling admission process, in two rounds." YIF Deputy Dean, Dr Anunaya Chaubey, said. "Applicants who apply in the first round get the chance of early selection in the programme and enjoy the convenience of being interviewed in a city closer to their homes. The first round of interviews from January 1, 2012 will be carried out in New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata. Subsequent interview sessions will be conducted only in New Delhi."
The rigorous process of admission to YIF starts with applicants filling up a detailed application dossier designed to give an insight into their multi-faceted personalities. "This is followed by a telephone interview and an exercise to test applicants' ability to work as part of a team before the final personal interaction to select a Young India Fellow," Dr Chaubey said.
The 2011 batch of Young India Fellows has already completed three intensive academic terms and has five terms remaining before the course ends in May 2012. Fellows have already undertaken a highly diverse range of courses to broaden their perspectives and build skills, including classes in Analytical Thinking, Leadership, Writing and Listening Skills, Philosophy, Sociology, Psychology, History, Economics and Statistics as well as classes designed to bring out their creativity, such as Art Appreciation and Latin Dancing. Faculty includes Andre Beteille, Ramachandra Guha, Rudrangshu Mukherjee and a range of professors from Penn, Cornell University, New York University, the University of Miami and the University of London.
The academic programme is rounded out with valuable hands-on work experience through YIF's unique Experiential Learning Module (ELM), under which Fellows work on target-oriented projects of their choice with such corporations and non-profits as Genpact, Harley-Davidson, Bharat Light and Power and the Council for Environment, Energy and Water (CEEW).
Dr Chaubey said, since its inception, YIF has attracted a lot of attention among the student community for its path-breaking approach towards providing holistic education, self-actualising opportunities and creating change agents in our society. "The 2011 batch of Fellows" accomplishments since starting in May include winning a Fulbright Scholarship, the 2011 World Bank Essay competition and the right to represent India at this month's UNESCO Youth Forum in Paris," he said.
Applications are open until February 28, 2012. The academic session starts in June 2012.
Visit www.youngindiafellowship.com and click on "Apply".
Media inquiries: Inga Butefisch, Ph:9958 170 246,email:inga.butefisch@9dot9.in
