IIT Kharagpur offers scholarships for Australian students

Students from the University of Melbourne who are enrolled under the Dual Doctoral Programme (DDP) will be offered competitive high-value scholarships by IIT Kharagpur to uplift the ongoing academic exchange programmes with Australian institutions, an official told a popular news organization. The scholarships have been instituted under the jointly conducted programme (DDP) by the two institutions on Tuesday, December 10.

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Sriman Kumar Bhattacharyya, IIT Kharagpur's Director (Officiating) announced the scholarship at the launch of the Melbourne India Partnership Program and Academy Conference at Melbourne.

IIT Kharagpur also gave a statement that each student will receive an annual funding equal to their home scholarships, an amount of AUD 30,000 (equated to Rs 14.6 Lakh approximately), which would cover their tuition, living expenses, travel costs and other fees for the programme.

Starting from the academic year 2020-21, two inbound foreign students will be offered the highly competitive scholarship from the prestigious Australian University. IIT Kharagpur conducts joint doctoral programs with several world-class Australian universities such as Curtin, Wollongong and James Cook, designed to build academic and research collaborations through networking.

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Under the joint supervision of faculty members from both institutions, students carry out research studies, and need to spend at least one year at the partner institution during the programme. At the end of the programme, students are required to submit a single thesis to both institutions who will then review it to their standards. The student is awarded the joint doctoral degree if the thesis is accepted by both institutions.

Nine students from IIT Kharagpur have enrolled in the joint doctoral programme with University of Melbourne ever since its launch in 2018, and one student from the Australian institution came under the DDP to India.

Baidurya Bhattacharya, the Dean of International Relations at IIT Kharagpur told the news organization: "We realised that there is a need for providing financial assistance to the foreign students as many of them support their families back home with their stipend. Just as our students studying in top foreign universities are funded under various scholarship and fellowship schemes, If we want to attract high quality international students, it is essential that we provide competitive scholarships." He is a part of the Institute's delegation to Melbourne.

Apart from Australia, IIT Kharagpur is setting up other joint doctoral programmes with the University of Auckland in New Zealand and the University of Alberta in Canada. The Institute is also looking to expand the scope of dual degree programmes and funding opportunities to other foreign students, specifically in ASEAN and SAARC regions.

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