US body comes scouting for talents

BHUBANESWAR: Coinciding with the 99th Indian Science Congress, the US-India Educational Foundation (USIEF) is making efforts to attract scientists and other professionals to explore opportunities under the prestigious Fulbright Program, which deals with international educational exchange.
"The Indian Science Congress offers a great opportunity for making professionals, especially scientists, young researchers in science and students aware about the Fulbright Program," senior program manager (Indian program), USIEF, Dr Sudarsan Dash told TOI on Wednesday."We are reaching out to different sections by making presentations and delivering talks at the congress about various scholarships and grants available under the Fulbright Program. We are mentoring interested individuals on how to apply and what to expect," he added.
Scholars and professionals from Odisha have not made it to the Fulbright Program in a big way, with around 80 of the over 8500 Indians who have been part of the program, including the Fulbright-Nehru fellowships, since it started in 1950, belonging to the eastern state. "But things have improved since the turn of the millennium and around 20 from Odisha have been selected. Applicants from Odisha are emerging as strong contenders for the program. Odisha figures among top 10 states of India going by last 10 years' data," Dash informed.
Deputy director, USIEF, Diya Dutt, said since 2008 the funding for Fulbright Program has increased by three times with the US and Indian governments contributing in equal measure. "We want more and more people to apply for the program, especially from underserved states including Odisha," she added.
Regional officer, USIEF, Shevanti Narayan, said fellowships for the 2013-14 academic year will be announced in February.