Funding studies with no strings attached
At a time when the world is gripped by a severe economic crises, financial aid or scholarships for students are hard to come by.
Even those grants that provide partial funding are difficult to get, leaving students with no choice but to approach banks for loans.
This is a Catch-22 situation for those who have the aptitude and the ambition to pursue a Masters programmes in Engineering and Management courses, but are constrained rather severely by their inability to find the money. While banks can loan the money to pursue their dream course, the debt they acquire even before they set foot into the industry could curtail their progress.
This is where the all-paid-for scholarship programme for those applying to premier Engineering and Management institutions would sound truly appealing.
It is indeed rare to find 100 per cent corporate funding to educate deserving students applying to premier Engineering and Management institutions, but that is what Societe Generale Global Solution Centre (SGGSC), the Bangalore-based software and services arm of the famous French bank, offers for the second year running.
The Centre selects about 10 students applying to the premier institutions it partners with, to provide financial assistance that covers both their tuition fees and living expenses for the entire duration of the course. Besides, students are also mentored by top level executives of the Centre, providing an opportunity to strike a personal relationship and learn how to practically handle issues from their perspective.
“This assistance we offer with absolutely no strings attached,” said the out-going CEO of SGGSC Nippi Kochhar. “Though students are free to join us after their course, we don’t bind them with bonds or contracts to work for us. Our idea is to help those talented students who may be constrained by the financial burden of pursuing (Masters) Engineering or Management courses in premier institutes.”
Second year
For the second year of the India Talent Assistance scholarship programme, SGGSC has partnered with three more institutions — Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad (IIMA), Indian Institute of Management, Tiruchirappalli (IIMT) and Indian School of Business (ISB), Hyderabad. This is in addition to Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB), Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode (IIMK) and International Institute of Information Technology Bangalore (IIITB), it partnered with last year.
Kochhar said the Centre has selected 10 students this year who had applied for various courses in the partner institutions. The assistance is for those who secure admission and are finding it harder to mobilise funds.
“We allocate Rs 1 crore each year for the scholarship,” said SGGSC’s Chief Delivery Officer and CEO designate Xavier Lofficial. “Besides the financial assistance, the students also get help and guidance from our executives through the mentorship programme, which would help them perform well throughout the duration of the course and walk out industry-ready.”
Changes
Based on feedback from students from last year, the programme has been modified to include a few more modules to make it more useful and appealing to students applying for it.
While they would be given an insight into the corporate functioning, an “idea of the key drivers in the organisation” and some tips on how to present themselves convincingly during job interviews, students, during the early stages of their courses, will also be given psychometric testing to help them select the best stream of Engineering or Management for them.
“Most of them choose a particular stream (of Engineering or Management) because it is lucrative and attractive. Their choices have little to do with personal interest. Pursuing a line of work or course where they would have personal interest reduces the undue stress level and will enable them to bring out the best,” Kochhar said.
From 2012, the Centre will also be taking in students for their summer training, as students usually find it harder to choose the organisation to train with. Preference will be given to those who look for technology and BPO skills.
Kochhar said despite the full financial support, the mentorship module of the scholarship remains the most popular aspect of the programme. “Mentorship is something very rare to get for the students,” he said. “That too from the top-most level of the executive leadership. All the heads of the various verticals of our Centre offer their services for the mentorship component.”
More than making it a formal relationship, mentors under the programme provide a genuine opportunity to forge friendships, helping them develop personality that fits the kind of education and training they get from the premier institutions.
“Our students are from modest backgrounds. An all-paid-for scholarship would help them worry less about the financial burden they would have to take on early in their careers and focus instead on studies,” said Prof Prafulla Agnihotri, Director, IIM Tiruchirappalli, who had partnered with SGGSC this year.
“This’s an excellent model for other corporates, who, given the kind of impact this would have in our society, should come forward to provide similar kinds of scholarships. This would also become a good industry-institution model. From our part, we are ready to offer any kind of assistance for SGGSC such as consultancy or marketing, which would again benefit both the organisation and students.”
Details of scholarship
Name: India Talent Scholarship
Eligibility: Successful applicants to the Masters programme in: Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ahmedabad, Kozhikode, Bangalore, and Tiruchi; Indian School of Business (ISB) Hyderabad; International Institute of Information Technology (IIIT) Bangalore.
Nature of scholarship: Merit-cum-means
Method of applying: Tthrough the respective institutions
Selection procedure: SGGSC and institutions to select eligible candidates
Coverage: Tuition fees, living expenses and other study related expenses
