Biotecnika Exclusive : Applications Invited For 2017 Common Wealth Scholarship in The United Kingdom
Government of India
Ministry of Human Resource Development ,Department of Higher Education
2017 COMMONWEALTH SCHOLARSHIP IN THE UNITED KINGDOM
Last date for applying online in the Ministry: 16th September, 2016 (till 3:00 PM)
Online application is invited from Indian national to apply for ‘2017 COMMONWEALTH SCHOLARSHIP TENABLE IN THE UNITED KINGDOM’ for Master’s & Doctoral degree programme. The study will commence in September/October 2017.
Number of nomination and award:
Nomination: In total maximum 65 candidates would be nominated for this scholarship, which includes 26 nomination for PhD.
Award: The Commonwealth Scholarship Commission (CSC) would make the final selection from the nominated candidates. About 25 to 30 candidates would be finally awarded the scholarship.
Level of course:–
(i) Taught Master’s Course (one year) (Note: Master Degree programs which are less than 2 years in duration, are not equivalent to Master Degree in India.)
(ii) Doctoral degree (up to three/four years’ duration) (Note: CSC would fund only few candidates for 4-year PhD programme. The candidates are advised to choose at least one 3-year PhD option also).
Subjects: The Applications are invited in the following subjects:
(A) Engineering and Technology :
- Electronics/Electrical
- Environmental Studies
- Remote Sensing Technology
- Communication Engineering
- Biotechnology or Biochemical Engineering
- Robotics
- Computer Applications /Computer Science
- Aerospace Engineering /Aeronautics
- Civil Engineering/Architecture
- Material Science
- Mining Engineering and
- Marine Engineering.
(B) Science (Pure and Applied)
- Mathematics
- Molecular Biology
- Physics
- Chemistry (including Pharmaceutical/Medicinal Chemistry).
(C) Agriculture
1. Agronomy & Forestry.
Eligibility:
(a) AGE: The age of the candidate must not exceed 40 years (as on 16.09.2016).
(b) Minimum qualifications:
For Master’s course: One should have completed or is expected to complete the Bachelor Degree by October, 2017 in the subject field concerned (indicated above). Minimum eligibility is 60% or above marks for Humanities and Social Science group and 65% or above marks for Engineering and Technology, Science and Agriculture groups.
For Ph.D. degree:- One should have completed or is expect to complete the certificate of Master Degree by October 2017 in the concerned subject field (indicated above). Minimum eligibility is 60% or above marks for Humanities and Social Science group and 65% or above marks for the relevant subjects in Engineering and Technology, Science and Agriculture groups.
(c) Others:
i) Candidates who have already been abroad for studies/training/ specialization either on scholarships or on their own, for a period exceeding six months are eligible to apply if they have been in India for at least two consecutive years as on 16.09.2016 after returning from abroad.
ii) Applications of candidates who are staying abroad will not be considered.
Requirement of English language proficiency:
i) The candidates must have completed tertiary education in English medium.
ii) The Candidates whose native language is not English are required to produce the evidence of required competency in English to study in the United Kingdom.
iii) As a condition of offering a place, the host institution in the UK may require a candidate to take particular English tests and/or training in English and reach a particular level.
iv) The Ministry of Human Resource Development does not ask applicant to provide an English Language Proficiency certificate.
Participating institutions: Awards are tenable at any approved university or higher education institution with which the CSC has a partfunding agreement. A list of these institutions is available at: http://bit.ly/cscuk-uk-universities .
Preference for institutions: Candidates are required to give preference for three institutions of study on their application form. The final decision on the host institution will be made by the CSC.
Application to preferred institution: Candidates must submit independent applications directly to their preferred institutions in advance of their scholarship application. Where formal offers of admission have been obtained, these should be included with the application. However, it is not mandatory to produce offer of admission till nomination. Finally selected candidate is asked by the CSC to obtain at least an offer of admission from one of the preferred institutions. Many courses have strict admission deadlines. Candidate must check admission requirements carefully when applying.
Supporting statement from supervisor: Candidates applying to PhD degree are required to obtain at least a supporting statement/letter from a potential supervisor, which is required to be produced at the time of interview conducted by Ministry of Human Resource Development. Candidates are strongly advised to provide a supporting statement from a supervisor at his/her first choice university. Otherwise, the CSC reserves the right to select you for placement at another university for which the candidate has provided a supporting statement. No candidate, for PhD, will be allowed to be interviewed without such supporting statement/letter.
Research Proposal/ Plan of Study: Candidates are advised to submit their plan for study/research proposals (minimum in 100 words for Master’s and 500 for PhD) while applying at the online portal of the Ministry of Human Resource Development. Note: A research proposal must contains Title, Abstract, Introduction, Methodology, Outcome etc.
Value of award:
Each scholarship provides: –
- Approved airfare to the United Kingdom and return at the end of the award (the CSC will neither reimburse the cost of fares for dependents, nor usually the cost of journeys made before the award is finally confirmed).
- Approved tuition and examination fees.
- Stipend (living allowance) at the rate of £ 1,043 per month, or £ 1,279 per month for those at universities in the London metropolitan area (rates quoted at 2016-2017 levels)
- Thesis grant towards the cost of preparing a thesis or dissertation, wherever applicable.
- Warm clothing allowance, wherever applicable.
- Study travel grant towards the cost of study-related travel within the United Kingdom or overseas.
- For PhD Scholars, fieldwork grant towards the cost of fieldwork undertaken overseas (usually the cost of one economy class return airfare to scholar fieldwork location).
- For PhD Scholars, paid mid-term visit (airfare) to their home country (unless they have claimed (or intend to claim) spouse and/or child allowances during their scholarship, or have received a return airfare to their home country for fieldwork).
- If scholarship is at least 18 months long, the following family allowances:
- Spouse allowance of £224 per month if the scholar and his/her spouse are living together at the same address in the UK (unless his/her spouse is also in receipt of a scholarship; other conditions also apply)
- Child allowance of £224 per month for the first child, and £110 per month for the second and third child under the age of 16, if scholar is accompanied by his/her spouse and children and they are living with him/her at the same address in the UK.
- If scholar is widowed, divorced, or a single parent (irrespective of the length of her scholarship), child allowance of £448 per month for the first child, and £110 per month for the second and third child under the age of 16, if scholar is accompanied by his/her children and they are living with him/her at the same address in the UK.
- Note: The CSC’s family allowances are intended to be only a contribution towards the cost of maintaining scholar’s family in the UK. The true costs are likely to be considerably higher, and he/she must be able to supplement these allowances in order to support any family members who come to the UK with him/her.
For more information, see the Handbook for Commonwealth Scholars and Fellows, available at http://bit.ly/cscuk-handbook-forms .
Nomination and final selection:
- Only shortlisted candidates would be called for interview and the Selection Committee consisting of subject experts will interview the candidates. Based on merit, the nomination would be made. The nomination will be sent to Commonwealth Scholarship Commission for the final selection.
- Nomination of a candidate by Government of India does not, in any way, guarantee final selection or placement. The Commonwealth Scholarship Commission will make its own selection out of overall nominees recommended. The Commission will announces the name of the finally selected candidate in April 2017.
- Note: Candidates are advised to go through the CSC’s selection criteria. The specific link has been provided at the end.
Online applications: Candidates are required to apply online at Ministry of Human Resource Development portal by 16.09.2016 (till 3:00 PM) and as well as at Commonwealth Scholarship Commission’s Electronic Application System (EAS) by 15.11.2016. The important links are provided at the end of the public notice.
Notes: It is mandatory for the applicant to apply on both the portals by the due date. The applicants who do not apply on both the portals would not be called for the interview. Candidate can only apply either for Taught Master’s course or PhD degree and only in one subject. More than one application would lead to disqualification.
Important dates:
- Closing date of online application in Ministry of Human Resource Development: 16.09.2016 (till 3 PM)
- Closing date of online application through CSC’s Electronic Application System (EAS) : 15.11.2016
- Announcement of the name of the candidates (subject wise) shortlisted for the interview Around : 20th October 2016
- Tentative dates for the Interview : Between 16.11.2016 and 08.12.2016
Documents required:
Scanned copy of the following documents are required while applying to the Ministry of Human Resource Development online portal:
i) Marks sheet and certificate for Secondary Examination
ii) Marks sheet and certificate for Higher Secondary Examination
iii) Transcript in respect of the candidate’s higher qualification(s).
iv) Bachelor’s/Master’s degree.
GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Candidates who do not possess the essential eligibility criteria need not apply.
2. Applicants who have already been registered for PhD or completed/ about to complete PhD will not be considered.
3. Canvassing in any form will be a disqualification.
4. Candidate will not be allowed to appear for interview if he/she does not submit NOC from the Employer. In case of Government Servant, clearance of the Cadre Controlling Authority is mandatory.
5. It is very important that applicants who are in employment to which they wish to return after completion of their studies in UK should have an assurance from their organisation that on the final selection by the CSC, they will be granted sufficient leave to complete the study. In general, a candidate undertaking research for a Ph.D. can be expected to need 36/48 months’ study in the United Kingdom even though in the first instance, the award will only be offered for one or two years.
6. Candidates will be expected to have the knowledge of the donor country.
7. All announcements will be available on the website http://mhrd.gov.in/scholarships .
8. In case, no communication is received by an applicant by 15th November, 2016, it may be presumed that he/she has not been short listed by the Selection Committee. THE DECISION OF SELECTION COMMITTEE SHALL BE FINAL. No correspondence will be entertained in this regard. o Mere fulfillment of above eligibility conditions does not qualify a candidate for interview. Only shortlisted candidates would be called for interview.
Important links:
- For applying online to Ministry of Human Resource Development: http://proposal.sakshat.ac.in/scholarship/
- For applying to CSC trough EAS : http://bit.ly/cscuk-scholarshipsdeveloping-cw or https://csc.do-itonline.org.uk/csc/ElectronicApplicationSystem.htm (for direct application)
- How to use Commonwealth Scholarship Commission EAS application : http://bit.ly/cscuk-scholarships-developing-cw
- 2017 Commonwealth Scholarship terms and conditions: http://cscuk.dfid.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/terms-conditionsscholarships-2017.pdf
- The list of institutions: http://bit.ly/cscuk-uk-universities
- Details of the CSC’s selection criteria: http://bit.ly/cscukscholarships-developing-cw
- Handbook for Commonwealth Scholars and Fellows at http://bit.ly/cscuk-handbook-forms
