Chennai: Cargill, a US Global Food and Agriculture Corporation, in partnership with the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) has announced scholarship for students, who wish to pursue BS in Data Science Applications at IIT Madras. The students would be selected based on the eligibility criteria for the merit-cum-means scholarship. In all, 7,500 new students enter the programme every year, of which between 25% and 30% of students fall in the category of annual family income of less than Rs 5 lakhs. The Cargill scholarship will enable over 100 students from a low-income background to fulfil their dream of pursuing higher education at IIT Madras.
IIT Madras launched the BS in Data Science and Applications in June 2020. The programme has completed six academic terms and is stepping into its third year. The programme was recently awarded the silver medal by QS-Wharton Reimagine Education Awards for the best online programme. More than 22,000 learners have qualified for the programme so far and about 17,000 are studying. While 195 students are at the degree level, more than 4,500 are at the diploma level.
Thanking Cargill for their support, Prof Mahesh Panchagnula, Dean (Alumni and Corporate Relations), IIT Madras, said, “One out of four students undergoing the BS course hails from an underprivileged background. The Cargill scholarship will provide such deserving and meritorious students across the country, an opportunity to pursue their dream education from a prestigious institution like IIT Madras. Many of these students hail from families of first-generation college graduates, daily-wage earners and farmers and are already availing of bank loans or various government scholarship schemes. This scholarship will play a significant role in easing the financial burden on the student’s family.”
