370 Indians to bag UK scholarships worth 1 million pounds

MUMBAI: The British Council on Monday announced the largest-ever scholarship programme to be awarded to students in India. In a press conference held in the city, officials from the British Council said that this year, around 370 scholarships worth almost 1 million pounds will be offered to students in the undergraduate and postgraduate courses in England, South Wales and Northern Ireland.

"We have some of the best universities in the world and are always open to the brightest and best students from India to come and study in the UK. And, owing to the increasing demand to the number of applications that come from India, we have also relaxed the visa norms for students," said Andrew Soper, counsellor (Prosperity), British high Commission, New Delhi. He added that there are various options that students will be provided with in terms of visas for graduate entrepreneurs, too.

The conference will be followed by a day-long exhibition in the city on Tuesday, organised to provide information on undergraduate, postgraduate or research programmes in the UK and also give information to aspiring students and their parents on student life and culture.

This exhibition will see participation from 70 UK varsities and will also have a UK Visas and Immigration stall managed by the officers of the British deputy high commission, Mumbai, to assist visitors with all queries relating to student visa regulations and policies.

Officials added that there are a range of courses that are usually opted for by Indian students and courses like engineering, IT and science have always been the favourite. "Recently there's been keen interest in humanities as well," said Rob Lynes, director of British Council, India.

The exhibition will be held at The Leela in Andheri (E) between 2 and 7pm on Tuesday, and is open to students and their parents.