British Council announces STEM scholarships for 2022
British Council announces STEM scholarships for 2022 Continues creating opportunities for Indian women to pursue global credentials in STEM
Chennai, 28 January 2022: British Council, the UK’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cult ural relations announced the second cohort of British Council Scholarships for Women in STEM. Over 100 sch olar ships are available to women STEM scholars from Asia and the Americas, out of which 65 scholarships are reserved for women STEM scholars from India and other South Asian countries, awarded on merit basis with no country-specific cap. Sele cted scholars will be able.to obtain a master’s degree or an Early Academic Fellowship at a UK university, and the sch olarship will cover tuition fees, monthly stipend, travel costs, visa and health coverage fees, as well as funding for dependents if any scholar wishes to travel with their children.
The first global cohort of 119 scholars enrolled on their chosen course in the autumn session of 2021 and included 19 women candidates from India. With these scholarships, British Council continues to support women looking to acquire global credentials in STEM (science, technology, engineering or math) at a university in the UK.
Barbara Wickham OBE, Director India, British Council said, “Based on the overwhelmingly positive experience and feed back from earlier scholarships, we are excited to offer this fourth round of scholarships for women in STEM. With the UK widely recognised as home to some of the world’s top-ranked universities offering quality programmes in STEM, we hope to enable women from across India to access a master’s degree or an academic fellowship at leading UK universities.”
“The British Council is committed to girls’ education and addressing gender imbalance in science, technology and inn ovation, including in academia. Since 2018, over 180 Indian women have been able to pursue a master’s in STEM sub jects in the UK and these new scholarships will support even more women in making transformational changes in their lives. And then go on to make a mark in the world and inspire future generations.”
As part of the programme, Indian women STEM scholars can apply for master’s courses and Early Academic Fellowships across 13 UK universities in courses like Data Science, Environmental Science, Engineering, Public Health systems, Info rmation Technology, Renewable Energy & Energy Management and Project Management. The scholarship is also open to women with dependants to apply, with extra support. Applications for the British Council Scholarships for Women in ST EM are open until 31 March 2022, though students are encouraged to check individual university deadlines.
For more details about the eligibility criteria for the scholarship, or other information including a full list of participating UK universities, available courses and university-specific deadlines, please visit:
www.britishcouncil.org/study-work-abroad/in-uk/scholarship-women-stem
Addressing gender equality in STEM education/ careers
British Council has been actively involved in promoting gender equality in the field of science to create more opportunities for women STEM researchers.
British Council and Department of Science and Technology (DST, Government of India) announced Gender Advanceme nt for Transforming Institutions (GATI) initiative, in February 2020. This initiative will result in introduction of a gender equality framework for Indian higher education institutions to enable an environment for equal participation of women in Science, Technology, Engineering, Medicine and Mathematics (STEMM) at all levels. British Council is enabling ties between Indian stakeholders and UK institutions to strengthen institutional competency, in order to narrow down the gender gap in STEMM education.
About the British Council
The British Council is the UK’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities. We build connections, under standing and trust between people in the UK and other countries thro ugh arts and culture, education and the English language. Last year we reached over 67 million people directly and 745 million people overall including online, and through broadcasts and publications. Founded in 1934 we are a UK charity governed by Royal Charter and a UK public body. We receive a 15 per cent core funding grant from the UK government.
Notes for the Editor
As per an All-India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) report India’s gender gap has narrowed over the past few years. The latest Global Skills Report by global EdTech major Coursera also states that women STEM scholars in India grew from 22 per cent pre-2020 to 33 per cent in 2020, even amid the pandemic. However, the gender gap in STEM is still significant. As a typical STEM worker earns two thirds more than non-STEM workers, giving women equal opportunities to pursue STEM careers helps narrow the gender pay gap and would be a major contribution to the ahievement of Susta inable Development Goal 5: achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.
