Oxford India Centre for Sustainable Development

We're back with the OICSD Research Showcase, where our scholars and affiliates present cutting-edge, interdisciplinary work in the fields of health, economics, ecology and politics. The showcase will begin with a keynote lecture by Judith Heyer, Emeritus Fellow in Economics, University of Oxford, who will discuss her extensive work on the impact of economic development on villages in western Tamil Nadu, India, from the 1970s onwards.

All are welcome.

Date: Tuesday, June 13 | 17:00-19:00 UK time | In-person event
Venue: Flora Anderson Hall, Somerville College
Register here: https://forms.office.com/e/da58wMxtqq

To celebrate ten years since its creation in 2013, the Oxford India Centre for Sustainable Development at Somerville College, is launching a new scholarship for Indian students from Dalit, Bahujan and Adivasi (SC/ST/OBC) backgrounds and/or first-generation students to take up their place at the University of Oxford. This is the UK’s first fully-funded graduate scholarship dedicated to Indian students from these underrepresented backgrounds.

Each year, the OICSD offers a set of graduate scholarships to Indian students working on topics relevant to India’s sustainable development, with the expectation that students will return to work in India. The Phule scholar will be a part of the 2023 cohort of scholars, with access to its academic and leadership workshops as well as the OICSD’s extensive networks and opportunities post-graduation. In establishing this scholarship, we recognise the effects of historic and current caste-based discrimination and prejudice including household poverty and lack of opportunity as well as lack of information, advice and careers guidance in multiple spaces.

The scholarship was launched on Friday, May 12, at Somerville College with a keynote address by Lord Harries of Pentregarth, co-chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Dalits, on the efforts to end caste discrimination in the United Kingdom. This was followed by a panel discussion with Barbara Harriss-White (Emeritus Professor at the University of Oxford), Surajkumar Thube (representative of Project EduAccess and the Oxford South Asia Alternative Forum), Raju Kendre (co-founder and CEO of Eklavya India) and Niharika Singh (the first Savitribai Phule scholar).

“With its long history of women’s education and empowerment, Somerville College is honoured to establish a new scholarship in Savitribai Phule’s name to support the next generation of leaders from Dalit, Adivasi and other underrepresented backgrounds,” said Jan Royall, Principal of Somerville College. “Our motto of including the excluded extends to people who have been subject to generations of social discrimination and prejudice under the caste system, and it is thrilling to think that these scholarships will offer brilliant young people from these under-represented groups a platform by which to change the world.”

The scholarship is named after 19th century social reformer and educationalist Savitribai Phule, inspired by her pioneering work eradicating gender and caste barriers to education. The first scholarship has been awarded to Niharika Singh, who will take up her place in the MSc Nature, Society and Environmental Governance programme at the School of Geography and the Environment in October 2023.

“As the first Savitribai Phule scholar, I am grateful to the support of the University of Oxford and Oxford India Centre for Sustainable Development. The opportunity will immensely support my larger goals of contributing in inclusive community development,” said Niharika Singh, who previously worked as a social sector professional in India. “By pursuing my MSc in Nature, Society and Environmental Governance at the University of Oxford, I will develop insights on global themes related to environmental governance and community development. Moreover, as a representative of the Dalit community, I wish to contribute in bridging the gap between environmental sustainability and caste marginality in India. Unfortunately, Dalits in India are invisible from the broader discourse of the environment as issues concerning accessibility to natural resources, discrimination and multidimensional vulnerabilities are largely unaddressed in the current environmental policy and discourse in India.”

Read more at the link below.

The OICSD launches Savitribai Phule Graduate scholarship for Indian students from Dalit, Adivasi and other underrepresented backgrounds - Somerville College Oxford To celebrate ten years since its creation in 2013, the Oxford India Centre for Sustainable Development at Somerville College, is launching a...

Presenting OICSD's term card of events for Trinity 2023!

Launching the Savitribai Phule scholarship; a conference on South Asian language futures; and development & more.

Sign up to our mailing list for news and updates here: https://forms.office.com/r/8DnKL6C4GQ

**JOB OPPORTUNITY**

Are you interested in working with an intellectual community on sustainable development issues in India? Are you passionate about translating academic research into impact? Then the OICSD is the place for you!

The OICSD is a vibrant community of researchers and students engaged in interdisciplinary research on India’s sustainable development challenges and opportunities. We're looking for a Partnerships and Communications Manager who will manage operations, communications, high-profile events and relationship-building at Somerville College, University of Oxford. They will be responsible for building the intellectual hub and its impact across India, UK and beyond.

Last date for applying: Wednesday, April 26 at 12 noon

Oxford India Centre for Sustainable Development Partnerships and Communications Manager - Somerville College Oxford As a result of recent expansion, we are seeking a Partnerships and Communications Manager for the Oxford India Centre for Sustainable Development,...

The OICSD team led by Jan Royall and Sara Kalim had a fantastic week in Delhi meeting supporters, well-wishers and partners of the Centre, celebrating 10 years since its launch in 2013.

Our visit began with a two-day workshop on India's urbanisation, climate policy and governance in partnership with Center for the Advanced Study of India, University of Pennsylvania, bringing together scholars from premier Indian institutions such as Indian Institute for Human Settlements, Tata Institute of Social Sciences and IIM Bangalore.

We then had a wonderful celebration of the 10th anniversary of the OICSD with the British High Commission in India & British Council, New Delhi, India meeting friends and supporters of the OICSD, well-wishers from the legal community, partner academic institutions, policy-makers, and our wonderful scholars and alumni from Somerville. Huge thanks to our host Alison Barrett MBE, and to our supporters Hemant Sahai and Gopal Subramanium who addressed the gathering.

The OICSD team also paid a visit to the offices of Prof (Dr) C Raj Kumar, Founding Vice Chancellor of OP Jindal Global, an eminent academic partner of Somerville whose students attend Short-Term Study Abroad Programmes at Somerville College each year.

Next, the team met with the Honourable Chief Justice of India Dr DY Chandrachud, Justice Bela Trivedi and Justice Hima Kohli, to discuss potential pathways for collaboration between the Supreme Court of India and the University of Oxford, particularly around opportunities for female judges in India's courts.

Finally, The Oxford and Cambridge Society of India convened a wonderful gathering of Oxford and Cambridge alumni and OICSD well-wishers, drawing support for OICSD's initiatives such as the new Savitribai Phule scholarship, which is a community effort to fund talented Indian students from marginalised backgrounds.

We are incredibly grateful to our friends and alumni in India, who have supported the Centre's mission of 'brain gain' for India through research, scholarships and events over the past 10 years. We look forward to many more productive exchanges and new partnerships on future visits.

TODAY: A special event in celebration of 's 10th anniversary: the OICSD Scholars Research Showcase

Featuring interdisciplinary research on health, environment, technology, economy, law, politics and more

Mar 1 | 5-8pm | Somerville College

Sign up: https://forms.office.com/e/TKGYwi64JR

Happening this Friday at 15.30 GMT!

A discussion on Professor Akshay Mangla's new book Making Bureaucracy Work: Norms, Education and Public Service Delivery in Rural India (November 2022), to understand what makes bureaucracy and the state work for the least advantaged.

In conversation with Professor Daniel Armanios (Saïd Business School) and Khadijah Fancy (Cambridge Education), this event will discuss insights from this book, in the context of broader questions of the role of the state in systems change, scaling interventions, and equity in education.

Sign up here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/book-talk-making-bureaucracy-work-tickets-481456237567

Speakers:
Professor Akshay Mangla is an Associate Professor in International Business at Saïd Business School, University of Oxford, and the author of Making Bureaucracy Work: Norms, Education and Public Service Delivery in Rural India.
Professor Daniel Armanios is the BT Professor of Major Programme Management at Saïd Business School, University of Oxford.
Khadijah Fancy is the Principal Education Adviser at Cambridge Education, and an education and gender specialist.
Moderator:
Professor Marya Besharov is Professor of Organisations and Impact at Saïd Business School, University of Oxford, and the Academic Director of the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship

Book Talk: Making Bureaucracy Work Insights for Action seminar series explores how researchers & practitioners within & beyond Oxford are using research insights for action

Tomorrow from 4-5:30 PM IST

Join us for an information session on scholarships for Indian students offered by the Oxford India Centre for Sustainable Development. Project EduAccess

Link to join: https://tr.ee/OBG51AKoJ0

New piece co-authored by OICSD Research Associates Vikranth H. Nagaraja, Anant Jani with Biswanath Ghosh Dastidar and Shailesh Suri proposing steps that may help India leverage virtual healthcare to deliver on its commitment to provide Universal Healthcare (UHC) to its citizens within a largely threadbare public health infrastructure.


https://www.nature.com/articles/s43856-022-00211-7 -info