New ‘Keventer Scholarship’ Programme to Foster Academic Exchange between Trinity College Dublin and Presidency University in India

Posted on: 12 December 2012

Supported by leading Indian corporation, Keventer Group, the scholarships will enable students from Presidency University in Kolkata to gain postgraduate qualifications from TCD

Indian students from Presidency University, Kolkata, will study postgraduate programmes at Trinity College Dublin from September 2013 with a new scholarship programme supported by a leading Indian corporation, the Keventer Group.  Over the course of the next five years the €250k scholarship fund will provide support for students from Presidency University in Kolkata in achieving postgraduate qualifications in a range of disciplines at Trinity.  

Speaking about the scholarship fund MK Jalan, Honorary Consul of Ireland in Kolkata and Chairman of Keventer said: "I am delighted that Keventer is sponsoring these scholarships. They will give substance to the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) just signed by Presidency University and Trinity College Dublin by enabling the brightest students from Presidency to undertake postgraduate research at Trinity across a wide range of disciplines.  This sort of student mobility will strengthen relationships between these two leading universities and between Ireland and India."

M. K. Jalan, Honorary Consul General to Ireland and chairman of Keventer Group, Malabika Sarkar, VC Presidency University, Kolkata, Provost of Trinity College, University of Dublin, Dr Patrick Prendergast.

The scholarship funding was announced at a special event in Kolkata during which Trinity College Dublin signed an MOU with Presidency University.  The new partnership agreement will enable both institutions to build collaborative and complementary research strengths and further promote research collaboration between India and Ireland.

Speaking at the event in Kolkata, Vice-Chancellor of Presidency University Professor Malabika Sarkar said: "This partnership agreement between Trinity College Dublin and Presidency University, Kolkata, will enable faculty, researchers, and students of these two institutions to engage in collaborative research and educational exchange. This will greatly enrich the basic strength of both institutions in the humanities, social sciences and the sciences."

Also speaking at the event in Kolkata Provost of Trinity College Dublin, Dr Patrick Prendergast said: "The signing of this partnership with Presidency University formally initiates collaboration in research and education between our institutions.  The support provided from the Keventer Group will ensure that talented Indian students from Presidency University will have the opportunity to travel to Ireland and share their expertise and enthusiasm, thereby enriching the learning experience for all students."

Present at the signing event on behalf of Trinity College Dublin were Provost, Dr Patrick Prendergast; Vice Provost for Global Relations, Professor Jane Ohlmeyer; Dean of the Faculty of Engineering, Mathematics and Science at Trinity, Professor Clive Williams and Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, Professor Michael Marsh.  Representing Presidency University at the event were Vice Chancellor, Professor Malabika Sarkar, and the Registrar and senior professors of Presidency University.

About Presidency University

Established in 1817 as the Hindoo College, and renamed in 1855 as the College of the Bengal Presidency before being placed in 1857 under the newly founded Calcutta University, Presidency University is renowned for being one of the first institutes of Western styled higher education in Asia.  Although a Constituent College of Calcutta University, Presidency College preserved a tradition of research that put it apart from other universities in India.  The formal establishment of Presidency University in July 2010 enabled it to refashion its venerable traditions and continuing strengths into a leading institution of the future.

Presidency's objective is to achieve a perfect balance between teaching and research in its basic focus areas of the natural sciences, the life sciences, the humanities and the social sciences. Some of the greatest scientists of India and some of the legendary scholars in the humanities have been students or faculty, sometimes both, at Presidency College. The unique combination of continuity and new beginnings that is shaping Presidency University today gives it an unusual vitality and resilience which should be further strengthened through international collaboration.  

About M K Jalan

Mahendra Kumar Jalan is the Honorary Consul of Ireland in Kolkata and Chairman of Keventer and MKJ Groups.  As one of India's most successful businessman, M K Jalan is also the Honorary Consul of Ireland in Kolkata.  His business interests span steel, food processing, dairy, horticulture, realty, port and industrial infrastructure.  MK Jalan serves on the board of several companies and is a trustee of Heritage School and Heritage Institute of Technology.