The UK’s Business Secretary Vince Cable has announced that the 2015 intake for GREAT scholarships for Indian university students to study in the UK will cater for 396 students, in an attempt to signal that the UK is ‘open for business’ as incoming Indian international student numbers plummet.
During a week-long trade mission to India, Cable aimed to combat the image of Britain as unwelcoming to foreign students.
The scholarships will be offered through the GREAT programme, which provides financial support for Indian students at 57 universities in the UK, with the bursary ranging from UK£1000 to UK£7500.
“The doors are open to Indian students to benefit from our world-class universities”
“With no limits on overseas student numbers and scholarships like the GREAT awards, the doors are open to Indian students to benefit from our world-class universities,” Cable said in a speech to the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry in Delhi.
“This is not a short-term offer,” he underlined. “There is huge demand from UK employers for the high level skills Indian graduates can offer, and students that gain graduate-level employment can stay here after completing their studies.”
He added, “From Indira Gandhi – India’s first woman Prime Minister – to Olympic Park sculptor Anish Kapoor, UK universities have produced some of India’s most eminent and talented graduates and I want that legacy to continue.”
Cable also announced the opening of the Education UK Alumni Awards, which will honour outstanding international alumni of UK institutions from China, India and the USA.
He also reiterated the UK’s commitment to the Generation UK-India Programme, which will launch in November, to support up to 25,000 UK students to study in India over the next five years.
And Cable stressed the importance of business ties between the UK and India, announcing a number of new, cross-border business ventures including a total £33 million investment in projects that the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) says will bolster the UK’s business relationship with India.