Boca Juniors Football School India (BJFSI), an affiliate of the Argentina-based Club Atletico Boca Juniors, one of the premier football clubs in the world, launched its Mumbai academy in collaboration with The Sports Gurukul, Mumbai on March 1. The BJFSI Academy was launched by Club Atletico’s technical director Petros Sideris, who announced that Antonio Lopez will be the head coach of the Mumbai academy.

“We are in the third year of franchised operations in Bangalore, and very impressed with the talent we have seen so far. There is so much talent in India with limitless potential that we would like to tap it early. We want to create a unique experience for all the youngsters in and around Mumbai, and greater expansion of our operations is on the cards,” said Sideris, speaking on the occasion.

“We are proud to bring the best football coaching practices to Mumbai. We have already selected a talented child who will be sent for international coaching to Argentina and we look forward to scouting for more children from the schools of Mumbai,” says Jay Shah, co-founder and director of The Sports Gurukul.

Bayer Science Camp scholarships

The Calgary (Canada)-based Bayer Science & Education Foundation will award 25 scholarships for the Bayer Science Camp to be convened in Denver, Colorado, USA from July 25-August 8. Ten scholarships will be awarded to school students from Germany, five each to teens from the US and India, and for the first time, another five to students from Africa. “Through our Science Teens Program, we want to get talented junior scientists excited about medical advancements and network them internationally,” explains Thimo V. Schmitt-Lord, executive director of the foundation.

According to a press statement, the theme of the science camp is ‘Life Science and Medical Health Issues’. The camp will be conducted this year in partnership with the prestigious STEM Harmony Education Center of the University of Colorado. The selected teens will research scientific and medical health issues under professional guidance, interact with scientists and conduct experiments in the mountains surrounding Denver.

Students in the 14-16 years age group with good grades in science subjects, strong interest in medical health issues and good command of the English language are eligible to apply. 

The application form should be downloaded from www.bayer.in and submitted together with a one-page English language essay on the ‘Role of the life sciences in health and society’. The deadline for applications is March 31.

Education UK Alumni Awards

The British Council, Delhi, honoured the achievements of distinguished Indian alumni of British universities of the past ten years. Awardees were selected from three categories: professional, business and social impact. The Education UK Alumni Awards 2016 were presented in Delhi on March 19 at a gala event attended by distinguished guests including Lord Jeffrey Mountevans, mayor of London, and Baroness Amos, director of the School of Oriental and African Studies.

“Indian students have been studying in the UK for over 100 years, and 160,000 have graduated from British universities over the past decade. They represent not just the benefits and success that a UK education can provide but also inspire others to follow a similar path. To encourage mutuality in student mobility between UK and India, we have launched the Generation UK-India programme to support up to 25,000 UK students to come to India by 2020. A strong network of UK-India alumni will help strengthen educational and cultural ties between our two countries. We congratulate the recipients of the awards and wish them luck and a bright future ahead,” said Rob Lynes, director of British Council India, speaking on the occasion. 

A2Oz study tour winners

Several students from schools in Jaipur, Jamshedpur and Chennai have won the chance to travel to Australia and visit universities Down Under this summer. Organised by the Australian Trade Commission and Cambridge English Language Assessment, a competition titled A2Oz — Advance to Australia — required students to produce short films outlining how they would solve some of the world’s biggest challenges.

Students from 380 schools across India participated in the competition with videos related to social entrepreneurship, creative animation, robotics and marine sciences submitted for evaluation.

Ayushi Ghosh and Shankhadeep Roy — students of the Carmel Junior College, Jamshedpur — were adjudged winners on the theme of robotics and have won an all-expenses paid five-day study tour of Curtin University, Australia. The other winners of the A2Oz films competition are: Seedling Public School, Jaipur (social entrepreneurship) and Vaels International School, Chennai (marine sciences and creative animation). 

“Australian institutions lead in many disciplines, and offer study programmes such as robotics, animation, avionics, sports medicine, etc. The study tour of Australia for children from the winning schools will broaden their horizons and give them new study options to consider,” said Nicola Watkinson, trade and investment commissioner (South Asia) of the Australian Trade Commission.