DU eyes alumni, corporate funds to sponsor needy students for semester abroad programme

New Delhi: Delhi University is looking to tap its alumni base and acquire corporate funding to support students from economically weaker backgrounds who opt for its proposed semester-away programme (SAP) in foreign higher education institutions (FHEIs), official documents have revealed.

The university has proposed financial assistance for such meritorious students, including those belonging to SC, ST, OBC, EWS categories and people with benchmark disabilities. These students may be supported through internal university funds, along with additional sponsorship mobilised via alumni contributions and CSR initiatives, the document states. The criteria will be laid down for selecting beneficiaries from among the applicants.

To streamline fundraising, the university is likely to route contributions through the University of Delhi Foundation, its fundraising arm that works to build and manage the institution’s endowment fund by mobilising donations from alumni, philanthropists, industry and corporate partners.

DU has a vast, though largely unorganised, alumni base -- estimated to include over 90 lakh graduates -- including several prominent figures in public life, and is being seen as a potential source of sustained financial support for the initiative.

The university’s foreign registry division will act as the nodal office for initiating the SAP, including facilitating partnerships with foreign institutions, coordinating student mobility, and assisting with accommodation and logistics for selected candidates.

The selection of students will be done by a constituted committee led by the chairperson, international relations, with an emphasis on maintaining diversity among participants. The degree will continue to be awarded by Delhi University, with credits earned at the FHEI reflected in the student’s marksheet or transcript. In case a student fails to qualify for a course at the host institution, they will be required to earn an equivalent number of credits through courses recommended by the university’s academic expert committee.

The SAP, part of the university’s broader push for internationalisation in line with the UGC 2022 regulations, will allow students to spend a semester at partner foreign institutions while earning transferable credits. Undergraduate students admitted from the 2022–23 academic session onwards will be eligible to opt for the programme in select semesters, subject to course mapping and institutional agreements.

The proposal is slated to be placed for approval before the academic council at its meeting on April 15.
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