Fulbright-Nehru fellowships now open to professionals
The launch of the 2010 Fulbright-Nehru Fellowship Competition, which will provide Indian scholars opportunities to study, teach, research and gain professional experience in the U.S. was launched by the U.S consul general in Chennai Andrew T. Simkin recently.
The Fulbright Fellowships which were once awarded only to students, professionals and academicians in the liberal arts and social sciences, will, for the first time, be offered to research and professional opportunities for scholars in the field of agriculture, business, mass communication, public administration and more through the Fulbright-Nehru Fellowships offered by the United States-India Education Foundation (USIEF). Sarina Praujape, USIEF Program Officer, said the foundation will provide fellowships to 85 scholars for the 2010 academic year, with fellowships lasting as long as two years. She said the bilateral agreement signed on July 4, 2008 not only makes India an equal partner in this program, but also allows scholars in almost all disciplines to participate. “The idea is to be more inclusive, so groups that have not participated in the past can now become a part of the Fulbright family.” Ms. Praujape said the application and programme criteria will remain the same for these newly-included fields, but once Fulbright Fellows complete the exchange, they can choose the method by which they wish to give back to their home countries.
Mr. Simkin said since 1946, the aim of the fellowship program has been to promote scholarly exchange, and thus far, the USIEF has “successfully sent scholars back and forth, increasing the cultural and intellectual understanding between the two countries.”
Additionally, he noted that despite the global meltdown and cutting of funding for so many programs, the funding for the fellowships will most likely continue to remain intact for the upcoming years because both countries are contributing: “In spite of budget pressures, there is a strong emphasis in diplomacy coming from both countries,” he said.
Recent Fulbright Fellows also shared their experiences from abroad. Durairaj Chinnasamy, Agricultural Entomology professor at the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, said his work involved finding a way to reduce insect reproduction, thereby reducing the need for insecticides in agriculture. He said he plans to implement some of the U.S. agricultural technologies here in India as well.
Meanwhile, V.A. Shiva Ayyadurai, Research Scholar from M.I.T., said he came to India to study Siddha Yoga and its implications with the molecular understanding of medicine that the West utilizes. He said his research could potentially drastically cut the funding the U.S. government is pumping into healthcare and pharmaceutical research. “The molecular age can meet the yogic age,” he said. All of the scholars agreed that their experiences through the Fulbright exchange program contributed immensely to their professional and personal lives. “Fulbright is the only organisation that could have made it possible for me,” Mr. Ayyadurai said.
AMRITHA ALLADI
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