Canadian fellowships for Indians
ELEVEN Indian scholars have won the Understanding Canada fellowships for this year. These fellowships range from three weeks to six months.
The fellowships are awarded in three categories — faculty enrichment, faculty research and doctoral research. These awards are funded by the Canadian government and administered in India by the Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute (SICI).
Santosh Bharti from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has been awarded the fellowship in the category of doctoral research. Bharti’s basic discipline of research is English literature. “My research interest on Canadian indigenous identity combines analyses of political theories on Canadian Indigenous identity through Canadian Indigenous literature.
This multi-disciplinary approach will help me in contributing both in the field of English literature and political science and broaden my understanding of Canada.” Bharti plans to visit several university libraries as also to the Indigenous Governance Department at University of Victoria and University of British Columbia, among other things.
Divya Sharma, lecturer, Maharaja Sayajirao University (MSU), Baroda, has been awarded the fellowship in the category of faculty research. Sharma feels that the fellowship in Canada would allow her to fulfil her research goals. “A collective understanding would lend me to incorporate the insights of my practical experience and research work into my teaching, future research, and scientific writing,” she says. Sharma intends to conduct her research in Toronto, Ontario. She is working on ‘Cultural Perspectives on Value structures of Emerging Adults: Experiences from India and Canada.’
Currently there are over 25 Canadian studies programmes in India. The University Grants Commission (
UGC) elevated four programmes as area study centres, which make them eligible to receive funding from UGC. Other notable grants available under the Understanding Canada programme are the Programme Development Grant and the Canada Conference Grant..
