Timothy Franklyn, founder of the city-based National School of Journalism and Public Discourse (NSoJ), has been selected for the third cohort of the Obama Scholars programme.
The programme, by the Obama Foundation, includes 11 rising leaders from various parts of the globe studying at Columbia University in New York in the 2020-21 academic year, according to a statement from the foundation.
Franklyn, the only Indian among the 11 scholars, was chosen for his work as the founder of NSoJ in nurturing, inspiring and training the next generation to become courageous and professional journalists.
“The Covid pandemic has changed all our lives. Over the past several months, the scholars have found innovative ways to pivot their work to meet the needs of the people in their communities. The world needs more leaders like this, now more than ever, and we look forward to supporting our third cohort of scholars on their leadership journeys,” said David Simas, CEO, Obama Foundation.
While at the university, the scholars will participate in a rigorous curriculum, designed by Columbia University in consultation with the Obama Foundation, which integrates academic, skills-based, and experiential learning. The scholars will gain real-world skills, tools, and experiences, and develop an action plan that will enable them to scale their up work in their home regions.
Prior to setting up NSoJ, Franklyn worked as a corporate finance lawyer in Delhi, Singapore and Hong Kong at many big law firms.
Timothy received an LLM from the London School of Economics and is qualified as an advocate in India and as a solicitor of the Senior Courts of England and Wales. He also serves as a trustee of the General KS Thimayya Memorial Trust and is a member of the Ethics Committee and Institutional Review Board of the Bangalore Baptist Hospital.