Ford Foundation announces fellowship programme for India [higher education]

[dhilipkumar]

          US-based Ford Foundation today announced its International Fellowship Programme (IFP) 2009 for India offering opportunities for quality highereducation to individuals at the grassroot level.

Candidates from across ten states of India will be awarded the fellowship for Masters and PhD studies, covering all expenses from pre-academic training before enrolling in an international university to accomodation and logistics support for the entire duration of the programme.

40 candidates will be chosen from Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand this year.

"There is a need for funding people who would normally have no access to quality higher education. IFP's aim is to make long-term investment in building capacities of these individuals," Ford Foundation Director for IFP Vivek Mansukhani told reporters here.

"The mission of this programme is to create opportunities for social and economic change through network of people at the grassroot level," he added.

The IFP, which began in 2001, supports individuals in 22 countries and will be spending USD 355 million under the programme which ends in 2010.

Till September 2008, 240 individuals from India have been selected, including 15 from Gujarat, for the fellowship programme. Of these, 160 candidates have completed their studies, while a number of them are still pursuing their higher studies abroad, Mansukhani said.