Defining excellence

Updated on: Monday, October 12, 2009

Dynamic, diverse, high quality, affordable and globally recognised — is how Canada describes its education system. With a large network of colleges and universities Canada is well-known for innovation and educational excellence in a variety of areas.
Canadian universities are endowed with world-class R&D infrastructure, and the Canadian Government has been investing heavily in university research capacity. The Government is also sensitive to the needs of foreign students — under the Post-Graduation Work Permit Program, international students have more flexibility to work in Canada and longer work permits. Apart from all this Canadian institutions are increasingly working collaboratively with their Indian counterparts in research, student and faculty exchange programmes and curriculum development.
It should therefore come as no surprise that a number of universities offer entrance scholarships based on a
candidate’s Class XII marks and some are introducing new ones for international students. The prestigious Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships Program (www.vanier.gc.ca), which offers scholarships worth CAD$50,000 per annum for up to three years, is now accepting applications for 2010.
Domestic and international
students in the areas of social, humanities, natural sciences, engineering, and health can apply for this programme till November 6, 2009. Eligibility requires
students to be nominated by a recognised Canadian varsity. The scholarship will be awarded after a competitive process based on academic excellence, research potential and leadership ability.
The scholarship programme offers opportunities for
individuals and institutions in India to pursue research with their Canadian counterparts in the quest for innovation and academic excellence. During the inaugural year, two Indian doctoral students were amongst the 37 international researchers to receive this
scholarship. While Niladri Chattopadhyay was selected to pursue cancer research at the University of Toronto, Atam Kapoor is working in the field of chemical engineering at the University of Alberta. Considered to be at par with other renowned scholarships like the Rhodes (UK) and the Fulbright (USA), the Vanier Scholarships aim at reaffirming Canada as a global centre of excellence in research and education.

Defining excellence

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