1st June 2024, Bengaluru, India: The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) has extended the deadline to apply for the eighth edition of its prestigious IET India Scholarship Awards, which has a combined prize money of Rs 10 Lakhs. The IET has currently received more than 45000 applications from students across the country for the same. Students of AICTE, UGC-approved and National institutes, who are yet to apply for the award, may send their applications by 15th June.

The IET India Scholarship programme aims to reward and celebrate individual excellence and innovation among undergraduate engineering students in India. The application round is the first step in a rigorous 4-stage process which tests students on academic and technical parameters, as well as creativity, innovation and presentation skills.

Speaking on the awards, Shekhar Sanyal, Director and Country Head, IET India said, “We are very excited to see the enthusiasm around the IET India Scholarship Award this year. In fact, due to a huge surge in applications, our servers recently crashed! This high demand is the reason why we are extending the application deadline by another two weeks. I wish all of the applicants the very best of luck!”

The IET India Scholarship Award 2024 is guided by an esteemed Advisory Board consisting of prominent academicians and nationally recognised corporate leaders. The committee is chaired by Prof Abhijit Chakrabarti, Former Vice Chancellor, Jadavpur University, Kolkata.

“At The IET, we believe it imperative for young engineers and innovators to delve deep into the challenges faced by our country and harness the power of emerging technologies to craft innovative solutions. The more the number of applicants, the greater the number of innovative solutions devised. The IET India Scholarship Award aims to serve as a catalyst for change. The next decade is pivotal for our nation, and the IET India Scholarship Award serves as a catalyst for change,” said Prof Abhijit Chakrabarti, Chair, IET India Scholarship Award Advisory Committee.

The Award evaluates participants across parameters that include academic performance, extracurricular activities, range of outreach activities and their ability to come up with creative engineering solutions to solve societal challenges. In the first round, students are shortlisted based on their academic performance as well as extracurricular activities. They then progress to an online test on STEM subjects and technical expertise. Students who clear the cut-off score are then invited to present their technological solution to a pertinent societal challenge in the regional rounds. Regional winners will finally compete in the national finals to win the title.

This will be the eighth edition for this national level scholarship, started in 2013. Last year, it received over 43,000 applications. Previous year winners joined in industry leaders such as Google, Apple, Boeing, Deloitte, and MIT, and some have even become entrepreneurs themselves.