The British Council Launches Exciting Initiatives at the Education UK Exhibition in Mumbai

- Announces GREAT Britain Scholarships – India 2015

- Announces Generation UK- India to bring 25,000 UK students to India

- Showcases the BLOODHOUND SSC (supersonic car) UK’s engineering marvel

• Announced the GREAT Britain Scholarships – India 2015- 401 scholarship awards are available this year worth 1.51 million pounds (approx. 151 million rupees) for varied subject areas ranging from Engineering, Law and Business to Art & Design, Biosciences across 57 UK institutions in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland

• Conducted an Education UK Exhibition, as part of the ‘GREAT Britain’ campaign in Mumbai today with participation from 60 UK institutions at The Leela, Mumbai from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m., coupled with seminars on subjects of interest

• Showcased BLOODHOUND SSC Show Car, the visionary science and technology project to highlight opportunities in Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) Education

As part of the ‘GREAT BRITAIN’ campaign (“GREAT”), the British Council, UK’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations launched the GREAT Britain Scholarships – India 2015 in Mumbai today. The announcement was made at the Education UK Exhibition popular with students who are looking to study and live in the UK.

The UK and India share a well-established, broad-ranging and expanding partnership on education. Strengthening this partnership, the British Council announced the GREAT Britain Scholarships – India 2015. With 401 scholarships this year, and over 750 in the last two years, it is the largest ever scholarships programme offered to Indian students. The scholarships are worth close to 1.51 million pounds (approximately 151 million rupees).

A highlight at the Exhibition this year, was the ‘BLOODHOUND Show Car’ showcased by the British Council in Mumbai. Underlining the UK's world-class engineering and innovation expertise, the BLOODHOUND SSC project hopes to inspire younger generations to pursue higher education opportunities in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) courses and careers in these technical fields.

60 UK Universities participated in the day-long Exhibition in Mumbai which provided information on undergraduate, postgraduate and research programmes in the UK as well as details on student life and culture. Immigration officers of British High Commission assisted visitors at the UK Student Visa and Immigration stall with all queries pertaining to the student visa regulations and policies. Students could also attend seminars by UK institutions on popular subjects such as management, IT& Engineering and IELTS, the world’s most popular English language test. For 25 years, IELTS has been the gateway for students looking to study in the UK and other destinations around the world.

“We’re keen to encourage greater student mobility and exchanges between India and the UK. UK welcomes India’s best talent, to gain internationally recognised qualifications from top-ranking global institutions. We are delighted to launch the GREAT Britain Scholarships – India 2015 as it will further empower aspiring Indian students to make an informed decision about studying and living in the UK. The Education UK Exhibition held today gave students and their parents the latest information about studying and living in the UK, and showcased the many benefits that the UK education offers.” said Sharon Memis, Director, British Council, West India.

“The partnership between the GREAT Britain Campaign and BLOODHOUND SSC is a strategic collaboration for promotion of UK science, innovation, engineering and education as well as the value proposition of UK’s STEM subjects to students studying in the UK. Bringing the BLOODHOUND Show Car to India is a stepping stone in taking this partnership with BLOODHOUND to the next level, aligning the ambitions of the GREAT campaign with the best of human and technological endeavour,” she added.

“The UK has a world class reputation in education and skills, and provides globally recognised 'STEM' education. Universities in the UK are excellent at research and innovation. I would encourage Indian students who want an international experience and professional development in STEM to come to the UK. It is a melting pot of disciplines, where people can find an unparalleled environment with inspiring teaching, state of the art facilities and a first rate research environment,” said Kumar Iyer, British Deputy High Commissioner Mumbai & Director General UK Trade and Investment India.

Notes to Editors:

BLOODHOUND SSC, designed to go up to 1,000 mph (just over 1,600 kmph), has a slender body where the outer body has been made using the Tata Steel and is approximately 14m in length with two front wheels within the body and two rear wheels mounted externally within wheel fairings. It weighs over 7 tonnes and the engines produce more than 135,000 horsepower - more than 6 times the power of all the Formula 1 cars on a starting grid put together! At full speed, BLOODHOUND SSC can cover a mile in 3.6 seconds.

The British Council also announced a new programme called Generation UK, which aims to bring up to 25,000 UK students to India over the next five years. The objective of the initiative is to promote India as a destination to gain study and work experience, offer mutually beneficial placements that will give UK young people the chance to develop employability skills and support the internationalisation of Indian companies and academic institutions. The British Council recently launched the India Employability Survey 2014, which provides insights into emerging employability trends that will help universities prepare graduates for opportunities in an increasingly globalised world. In addition, British Council has introduced the Education UK Alumni Awards 2015 to honour the outstanding achievements made by business professionals, entrepreneurs and community leaders who can demonstrate how their UK education has impacted on their subsequent success (for more information on the Education UK Alumni Awards 2015, please visit: http://www.britishcouncil.org/education-uk-awards).

GREAT Britain Scholarships – India 2015

Student Mobility is critical for cultural relations. The mutual movement of people and ideas between India and the UK helps create the condition for more creativity, innovation and enterprise. The British Council is working with partners across Government in the GREAT Campaign, promoting the UK as a destination to study. The GREAT scholarships would entail:

• 401 part scholarship awards worth 1.51 million pounds (approx. 151 million rupees) on offer for courses ranging from Engineering, Law and Business to Art & Design and Biosciences

• 57 UK institutions across England, Scotland Wales and Northern Ireland are participating in this programme

• Scholarships are tenable for September 2015 and January 2016 intakes

Seminar schedule:

Seminar                                             Time

MBA in the UK                                  14.30 p.m. – 15.30 p.m.

IT and Engineering Courses         15.30 p.m. – 16.30 p.m.

Student Visas                                   16.30 p.m. – 17.30 p.m.

IELTS                                                 17.30 p.m. – 18.30 p.m.

List of participating universities at the Education UK Exhibition, Mumbai:

Sr. Nos      Name of the Institution

1                Arts University Bournemouth

2                University of the Arts London

3                Aston University, Birmingham

4                Bangor University

5                University of Bedfordshire

6                Birkbeck, University of London

7                Birmingham City University

8                University of Birmingham

9                University College Birmingham

10              The University of Bolton

11              Bournemouth University

12              BPP University

13              University of Bradford

14              Cardiff University

15              University of Central Lancashire (UCLan)

16              City University London

17              Coventry University

18              University for the Creative Arts

19              University of East London

20              University of Exeter

21              Falmouth University

22              The Glasgow School of Art and the University of Glasgow

23              Goldsmiths, University of London

24              University of Hertfordshire

25              Imperial College London

26              University of Kent

27              King's College London

28              Kingston University London

29              Lancaster University

30              Leeds Beckett University

31              Leeds Trinity University

32              University of Leeds

33              University of Lincoln

34              London Metropolitan University

35              University College London (UCL)

36              Manchester Metropolitan University

37              The University of Manchester

38              Middlesex University, London

39              NCUK

40              Newcastle University

41              The University of Northampton

42              Northumbria University

43              The University of Nottingham

44              University of Oxford

45              University of Plymouth

46              University of Portsmouth

47              Queen's University Belfast

48              University of Reading

49              Regent's University London

50              University of Roehampton

51              The Royal Agricultural University

52              Royal Holloway, University of London

53              University of Salford

54              Sheffield Hallam University

55              University of Strathclyde, Glasgow

56              Swansea University

57              University of Warwick

58              University of the West of England, Bristol

59              University of Westminster

60              York St John University

Online resources

Education UK website

A comprehensive website aimed solely at the Indian students –with a searchable course database of more than 450,000 courses, information on visa procedures, stories from alumni, scholarship information and lots of advice for potential students and their families - http://www.educationuk.org/india/

For advice about the quality of teaching and research in UK higher education institutions students should consult the following official resources - for subject and institution reviews visit www.unistats.ac.uk and for research ratings visit www.rae.ac.uk

The UK is very competitive — both for tuition fees and living costs — according to a study by the UK Higher Education International Unit published recently. Eight out of 10 higher education students in UK also give their courses top marks, finds a survey published by the Higher Education Funding Council for England in August 2011. You can find out more on www.hefce.ac.uk/

International students with a recognised degree from a UK Institution may also be able to apply for visa to work in the UK as per the announcement on ‘Exceptional talent route’ and ‘New student entrepreneurs’ scheme. You can find more on www.gov.uk/browse/working

The ‘GREAT Britain’ Campaign:

The ‘GREAT Britain’ campaign (“GREAT”) is a strategic international marketing programme designed to promote the UK to business, tourism and student markets worldwide in order to enhance the country’s global reputation and deliver long-term economic benefits. GREAT was officially launched in February 2012.

For world class education and training, with more than 30 of the world’s top 200 universities, choose the UK

International graduates of British Universities significantly improve their career prospects and earning potential. Study in the UK and enjoy the rewards

For a world class teaching experience, with graduate and post graduate satisfaction at 90%, study in the UK

For the highest number of top MBA courses in Europe and one of the best places to study business, choose the UK

British Council:

The British Council is recognised across India for its network of 9 libraries and cultural centres. We offer a range of specialised projects in arts, education, exams, English language and society to audiences across India and more than 100,000 members. We also provide access to English language training and learning for both students and teachers, offer UK qualifications in India and enable opportunities to study in the UK.

We also manage prestigious scholarships and training awards, including the Jubilee scholarships, the Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship Plan and the Charles Wallace India Trust awards. Our English language centres in Chennai, Delhi and Kolkata provide a range of general and business English classes, specialised skills based programmes and young learner courses. We work with a wide range of Indian partners in cities all over India enabling British and Indian experts to meet and collaborate and to nurture mutually beneficial relationships

For more information please contact:

Sunit Koli | sunit.koli@in.britishcouncil.org

Senior Project Manager-West India, Services for International Education Marketing, British Council

Media queries may please be directed to:

Renuka Reuben, Senior Manager Communications and Marketing, West India, British Council

Renuka.reuben@in.britishcouncil.org

+91 98208 43608