$2.4M From India's Science and Engineering Research Board To Support Ph.D. Students

New Doctoral Fellowship Program Will Support Advanced Study in STEM Fields

Outstanding science, math and engineering students from India will have additional support in pursuing doctoral degrees at Carnegie Mellon University through new fellowships provided by India's Science and Engineering Research Board.

Carnegie Mellon President Subra Suresh and Professor T K Chandrashekar, Secretary of the Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) of the Government of India, signed an agreement Friday, July 3, in the presence of Professor Ashutosh Sharma, Secretary, Department of Science and Technology and Chairman, SERB. The agreement calls for $2.4 million in fellowships over the next five years.

The fellowships will provide stipends for a minimum of five Indian students each academic year. The program is scheduled to begin in the fall of 2016. CMU will encourage all admitted doctoral students from India to apply for a SERB fellowship.

Signed on the eve of CMU's first major event in New Delhi, the agreement extends the university's long history of collaboration with India. The country hosts the largest concentration of CMU alumni outside of the U.S., and more than 1,300 students from India attended CMU last year — one of the university's largest international student contingents.  

"We look forward to working with the Board to develop the next great generation of scholars, scientists, and engineers who will help address many of the 21st Century human challenges," President Suresh said.

"SERB is delighted to partner with CMU on doctoral fellowship program, and through this program, talented Indian scholars will be able to pursue research in frontier areas which are of relevance to India. I am sure this partnership will gain strength in the years to come," said Chandrashekar said.

SERB was created by the government of India in 2010 to promote basic research in science and engineering and to provide financial assistance to researchers, academic institutions, research and development laboratories, industrial concerns and other agencies.

Chandrasekar is a member of the Global Research Council, which was founded by President Suresh when he was director of the U.S. National Science Foundation.