Mumbai, February 9. The Aditya Birla Education Academy (ABEA) has signed a collaboration agreement with the US-based Johns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth (CTY) to offer scholarships in India for CTY’s online programs for advanced learners.

Under terms of the agreement, ABEA and CTY will identify and support bright young learners in India through these online programs at reduced fees — a 5 percent reduction on tuition and application fees — until August 2021. This fee reduction is available to the first 50 advanced learners who apply to ABEA. Students in classes II-XI can qualify for the scholarships by participating in the CTY Talent Search test conducted by ABEA.

CTY offers more than 200 challenging, engaging and enjoyable digital courses conducted by expert instructors who specialise in teaching advanced concepts to advanced learners. Courses are available in real-time, independent and student-driven, collaborative formats in computer science, critical reading, engineering, history, mathematics, science, social science, world languages.

“We are dedicated to offering unique, rigorous and relevant courses to learners in India who are looking to upskill themselves in this fast changing world. We are happy to work with the Johns Hopkins CTY and provide special scholarships to fulfil the learning needs of bright young minds,” said Neerja Birla, founder and chairperson of the Aditya Birla Education Trust, speaking on the occasion.

TMY-Shiv Nadar Foundation M&A

Delhi, February 4. Shiv Nadar Foundation, the philanthropic venture of IT entrepreneur Shiv Nadar, founder-CEO of HCL, a US $10 billion global IT conglomerate, has acquired The Magic Years (TMY, estb.1978), Delhi’s top-ranked standalone pre-primary which will prepare youngest children for the foundation’s K-12 Shiv Nadar School, Noida. However, Shirley Madhavan Kutty, the founder-principal of TMY and her team of educators will continue to lead the pre-primary renamed ‘The Magic Years, a Shiv Nadar School’.

“Over the past four decades, TMY has emerged as the torch-bearer of preschool education, inculcating in children the joy of learning while helping them to develop critical social and emotional skills. The Shiv Nadar School has also emerged as one of the most respected K-12 schools in Delhi NCR in a short time span. I am happy to partner with the Shiv Nadar Foundation to continue to provide an engaging, caring and fun learning environment for pre-schoolers,” said Madhavan Kutty, commenting on the merger.

CEDP scholarships

Mumbai, February 1. Council of Education and Development Programmes (CEDP, estb.2010), a Mumbai-based skill development institute, is to provide free training for 500 eligible students. The selected students can choose from the 50-plus skill development courses run by the institute. Courses offered include certified training for the hospitality, aviation, automobile and healthcare industries. Commercially, course fees range from Rs.15,000-6 lakh which will be waived for the selected students.

To avail scholarships, applicants should register for the online AICST (All India Career and Scholarship Test) Entrance Test. Eligibility for writing the test is class X certification and beyond.

Comments Shaheen Khan, founder and CEO of CEDP Skill Institute: “Much has been discussed on the impact of Covid-19 on employment. As an educationist, I believe that urgent action is needed for upskilling youth to prepare them better for changed post-Covid workplaces. Therefore, we are providing free training and mentoring for 500 youth. This initiative has been launched to enable talented students with financial challenges an opportunity to take one of our skill development courses online. Education is a tool for empowerment and employment.”

British Council Women’s Scholarships

New Delhi, February 15. On the occasion of International Women’s Day (March 8), the British Council has launched a new scheme to support women who wish to pursue Masters degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) in the UK. The scholarship will allow over 100 women from India and other countries in South Asia, East Asia and the Americas to obtain advanced degrees from several UK universities, to qualify for careers in STEM vocations.

According to data from the UN Scientific, Educational and Cultural Organisation (Unesco), fewer than 30 percent of research personnel worldwide are women and only 30 percent female students select STEM-related fields in higher education.

This generous scholarship scheme includes tuition fees, monthly stipend, travel costs, visa and health coverage expenses. The scholarship is also open to women with dependants and contains provision for scholars who might need a short pre-sessional English course to achieve the language level needed to undergo their studies.

Female applicants from South Asia must be from one of the following eligible countries — Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan or Sri Lanka. All candidates from South Asia must apply directly to the following universities of their interest: Teesside University, City University London, University of Strathclyde, Newcastle University, Edinburgh Napier University, The University of Warwick, The University of Edinburgh and Brunel University London.