PA/13/14 28 March 2014
INDIA’S TOP TALENT FINDS AUSTRALIA REWARDING
Australia’s High Commissioner to India, Patrick Suckling, has today appointed 24 successful Indian alumni of the Australia Awards Scholarships as Ambassadors and Mentors for the prestigious program.
“Australia wants to attract the best and the brightest through the Australia Awards scholarships, which promote stronger education and research connections with India,” Mr Suckling said.
“These 24 distinguished alumni have made an invaluable contribution both at home and overseas. We want to capitalise on their knowledge and experience to promote the benefits of the Australia Award scholarships to other Indian applicants.”
The 15 Australia Awards Ambassadors will raise the visibility of the scholarships through presentations at top research and higher education institutions across India, while nine ‘Australia Awards Mentors’ will offer advice to new Australia Awardees on studying and living in Australia.
“This elite network of leaders in India will encourage a new generation of high-performing Indian students to broaden their experience through an education scholarship in Australia,” Mr Suckling said.
One of the Ambassadors, Dr Rama K Guggilla, said receiving an Australia Award had given him a chance to develop his cutting edge research on cardio-metabolic diseases, and how to best treat hypertension in India.
“The Australia Award gave me an invaluable opportunity to complete my Masters of Medicine, and to begin my research with the assistance of world class facilities and colleagues,” Dr Guggilla said.
“I’m now doing vital research in India which will help doctors here to devise more effective treatments for hypertension, and reduce the number of heart attacks and strokes people suffer.”
The Australia Awards Scholarships are awarded by the Australian Government to high-achieving students, researchers and professionals from around the world each year to study in Australia’s world-class education institutions or undertake a professional development program. A total of 573 Australia Award scholarships have been offered to high-calibre Indian students and executives since 2007.
Further information about Australia Awards can be found at www.australiaawards.gov.au
List of Appointed Ambassadors and Mentors
Australia Awards Ambassadors
1. Dr Manoj Khandelwal, Assistant Professor, Department of Mining Engineering, Maharana Pratap University of Agriculture & Technology, Udaipur, Rajasthan
2. Dr Ravichandra Potumarthi, consultant, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh
3. Dr R S Jayasree Scientist & Head of Department, Biophotonics & Imaging Lab, Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Science & Technology,
Cochin, Trivandrum
4. Dr. Sukalyan Chakraborty, Assistant Professor, Environmental Science & Engineering Group, Birla Institute of Technology, Ranchi, Jharkhand
5. Dr Manoj Kumar Tripathi, Principal Research Scientist, Central Institute for Research on Goats (Indian Council for Agriculture Research Centre)
Mathura, Uttar Pradesh
6. Dr. Rabindranath Bhattacharya, Professor & Head, Department of Polotical Science, The University of Burdwan, Kolkata, West Bengal
7. Dr Rama Krishna Guggilla, Research Fellow & Medical Fellow, George Institute for Global Health, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh
8. Prof Vijay Kumar Tiwari, Professor, Department of Planning & Evaluation, National Institute of Health & Family Welfare, New Delhi
9. Dr Punarbasu Chaudhuri, Assistant Professor, Department of Environmental Science, University of Calcutta, Kolkata, West Bengal
10. Dr. Amit Ranjan, Assistant Professor, Janki Devi Memorial College, University of Delhi, New Delhi
11. Dr. Shukriti Sharma, Assistant Professor, Guru Angad Dev Vetinerary and Animal Sciences University, Ludhiana, Punjab
12. Dr Rakesh Behari Mathur, Chief Scientist & Head, Physics and Engineering of Carbon, National Physical Laboratory, New Delhi
13. Dr Subrahmanyam Nukala, Chief of Nuclear Medicine, Director, Care Hospital, Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh
14. Dr Arun Kumar Chawla, Professor & Head, Department of Urology and Renal Transplant, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, Karnataka
15. Dr Venkadasamy Govindasamy, Scientist (Microbiology), National Institute of Abiotic Stress Management (Deemed University) (Indian Council of Agricultural Research), Pune District., Maharashtra
Australia Awards Trusted Mentors
1. Dr Devarajulu Suresh Kumar, Professor, Department of Agricultural Economics, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu
2. Prof Kapil Kumar, Director, Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi
3. Dr Gautam Kaul, Principal Scientist, Professor & I/C N.T, Biochemistry Department, National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal, Haryana
4. Dr Kishore Kumar Krishnani, Principal Scientist & Head School of Edaphic Stress Management, National Institute of Abiotic Stress Management (Deemed University) (Indian Council of Agricultural Research), Pune District. , Maharashtra
5. Dr Niyati Kalangutkar, Project Scientist C, Hydrothermal studies, National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research, Goa
6. Adnan Naim, Phd student, Griffith University, Australia
7. Sibasis Hense, phd student Queensland University of Technology, Australia
8. Amardeep Kaur, phd student, Australia
9. Arnab Chakraborty, Program Director, Professional Assistance for Development Action (PRADAN)-an NGO, Kolkata, West Bengal