Eight Indian Students Win British Council IELTS Scholarship Award 2014

Eight Indian students have been declared winners of the British Council IELTS Scholarship Award 2014 and will receive INR 300,000 each towards the cost of tuition fees for their undergraduate, graduate or postgraduate study abroad.

The British Council IELTS Scholarship Award was launched in 2010 with the objective of assisting Indian students intending to study at universities abroad. To date, 32 Indian students have had the chance to study at universities abroad due to the help of the IELTS Scholarship Award.

This is the fifth annual IELTS Scholarship Award ceremony and it falls in a particularly special year as the British Council and its IELTS partners celebrate the 25th year of IELTS. For 25 years, IELTS has helped people to officially benchmark their English language proficiency, allowing them to follow opportunities in education, immigration and professional accreditation in 135 countries around the world.

This year’s winners were selected from a large number of applicants which is increasing every year, all hoping to win the scholarship to facilitate their dreams of studying abroad. The rigorous selection process included the writing of an essay on a topic of their choice in English, a presentation to the judging panel and interviews.

The 2014 winners are from across India, and will be studying at universities in the UK, Canada, Germany and the USA. The eight winners are: Yashna Malhotra from Mumbai; Wilston Prajwal Dsouza from Mangalore; Ahish Vishwanatha from Bangalore; Ritwik Athalye from Pune; Nikita Kohli from Mumbai; Neelakshi Rajeev Tewari from Gurgaon; Supreet Mahanti from New Delhi and Raghuvir Dass from New Delhi.

Speaking at the awards ceremony held in Hyderabad, Sarah Deverall, Director Examinations India & Customer Services South Asia, said: "I am delighted that such deserving young winners have been selected for our 5th annual British Council IELTS Scholarship Awards and would like to wish them every success in their studies, which this year include a variety of IELTS destination countries, including the UK, the USA, Germany and Canada. We were very pleased with the number and quality of applications this year. In addition to the destination countries for the winning applicants, the shortlisted applicants were heading for an even wider variety of destinations, including Australia, Netherlands and Ireland."

The British Council IELTS Scholarship Awards were presented to winners by the guest of honour the British Deputy High Commissioner in Hyderabad, Andrew McAllister, and Sarah Deverall, the British Council’s Director Examinations India & Customer Services South Asia.

International English Language Testing System (IELTS), recognised as the world’s leading international English language test, is designed to evaluate the ability to communicate in English for education, immigration and professional accreditation worldwide. IELTS is now accepted by more than 9,000 educational institutions, employers, professional associations and governments in 135 countries around the world – including over 3,000 institutions and programs in the USA as a measure of English Language proficiency.

The British Council IELTS Scholarship Awards are presented by the British Council India to eight students every year. In addition to the British Council IELTS Scholarship Awards, the British Council is also a partner organisation in the GREAT Britain campaign which seeks to build on the established bilateral relationship between the UK and India. The GREAT Education campaign in particular aims to encourage greater student mobility and exchanges between the two countries, to ensure that students from across the world benefit from the high quality higher education that the UK has to offer.

www.britishcouncil.in/ielts

Notes to Editor:

• British Council IELTS Scholarship Award 2014 winners:

Name                                                          Home city, region

Yashna Malhotra                                      Mumbai, West India

Wilston Prajwal Dsouza                         Mangalore, South India

Ahish Vishwanatha                                  Bangalore, South India

Ritwik Athalye                                            Pune, West India

Nikita Kohli                                                Mumbai, West India

Neelakshi Rajeev Tewari                      Gurgaon, North India

Supreet Mahanti                                       New Delhi, North India

Raghuvir Dass                                         New Delhi, North India

About the British Council:

The British Council creates international opportunities for the people of the UK and other countries and builds trust between them worldwide. We are a Royal Charter charity, established as the UK’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations. Our 7,000 staff in over 100 countries work with thousands of professionals and policy makers and millions of young people every year through English, arts, education and society programmes. For details of our work in India, please visit www.britishcouncil.in

About International English Language Testing System (IELTS):

IELTS is the International English Language Testing System, the world’s most popular English language proficiency test with two million tests taken in the last year.

Candidates are tested in listening, reading, writing and speaking. All tests are scored on a banded system from 1 (the lowest) through to 9 (the highest possible band score).

IELTS offers a choice of two versions, to serve both academic and non-academic purposes. IELTS Academic measures English language proficiency needed for an academic, higher learning environment. The tasks and texts are accessible to all test-takers, irrespective of their subject focus. IELTS General Training measures English language proficiency in a practical, everyday context. The tasks and texts reflect both workplace and social situations.