British Council and the Telangana government announced a residential short-term certificate course in the UK for 15 meritorious students from the state, under the 'Scholarships for Outstanding Undergraduate Talent (SCOUT)' programme by GREAT, for the Telangana government, stated a press release issued recently by Archetype on behalf of the British Council.

The initiative has been designed to provide exposure and skills to talented young students who have limited means to access or experience international education and inspire them toward world-class innovation and research. 

Navin Mittal, Commissioner of Collegiate, Technical & Intermediate Education; Rahul Bojja, Secretary, SCD, Hyderabad; Donna Gall, Senior International Officer at the University of Glasgow and Janaka Pushpanathan, Director, South India, British Council addressed the gathering at the programme.

As a part of this initiative, the 15 undergraduate level students along with two faculty members from Telangana will be hosted by the University of Glasgow in March and April 2023 for a two-week short-term certified course on ‘How to be More Rational: Critical Thinking, Logic and Reasoning’.

The short course will help develop the academic and research skills of the students and help them gain interdisciplinary knowledge through new pedagogical methods. The activity will also enable students to impact their own communities at the local level, institutions and future workplaces through their learning.  

As part of the arrangement, the opportunity was extended to students pursuing their graduation from higher educational institutions in Telangana, who were selected based on their merit. The programme will be funded by the GREAT campaign by the British Council and cover the course fees, accommodation and other expenses for the students while in the UK. The government is funding the travel and visa costs for all students and faculty members.  

In a reciprocal arrangement, the Telangana government will reserve five master's scholarships for study in UK universities as part of their Chief Minister's Overseas Scholarship Scheme in the state, added the release.

It may be mentioned here that the GREAT campaign is the UK government’s initiative to promote the UK internationally as a 'great' place to visit, study and do business. The British Council, India is a partner in the GREAT campaign.