The Chevening Gurukul Scholarship for Leadership and Excellence.
Applications for the Chevening Gurukul Scholarships for Leadership are now open until 11 April, 2011.
The Chevening Gurukul Leadership Program at the London School of Economics (LSE) is the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s premium scholarship scheme for India. The selected candidates are offered an intense, all expenses-paid, 12 week residential course at the LSE. Through a combination of closely supervised project work, academic courses, field visits, seminars, debates and interactions with some of today's top public figures, this is a unique opportunity for up to 16 Indian leaders.
Each scholarship covers the following:
- Full Program fees
- Accommodation and living expenses for the duration of the scholarship for a maximum period of 12 weeks
- Return airfare from India to UK
- UK Student Visa and Schengen visa (for study visit)
The Chevening Gurukul Program: Chevening Gurukul is a unique 12-week, advanced leadership program, created by the renowned London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) specifically for India’s future leaders. It was launched in 1997 to mark 50 years of India’s independence.
Each year, this Program enables twelve exceptional Indian men and women to participate in an intensive exploration of the challenges of top leadership in a globalizing world through a program of academic studies, field visits and seminars, debates with practitioners, and individual projects of direct personal relevance.
The Chevening Gurukul Program addresses the issues faced by leaders in all fields – “how to lead more effectively” – by analyzing changing ideas and practices of leadership and exploring the implications of globalization for Indian leaders. It provokes critical thinking and provides unique opportunities for scholars to test their own hypotheses with policy makers and practitioners as well as with academics and opinion leaders.
The Program offers each scholar a learning opportunity:
- To gain a global comparative perspective - by comparative analysis and by exploring the UK’s distinctive culture - and thus to sharpen understanding of India’s global roles and of external perceptions of India
- To explore in depth some of the major global challenges to leaders
- To study new theories of leadership and innovative practices
- To hone appropriate leadership skills in notably in team-building, and negotiating
- To explore a UK leadership success story and thereby make contact with professional peers
- To re-assess his/her own career trajectory
Program Content: A personalized ‘learning partnership’ approach: Throughout the 12 weeks, each scholar follows a Personal Development Plan with identified goals, under the guidance of an integrated supervision team including the Program Director, the Coordinator of Leadership Studies, and an LSE supervisor. The Plan includes taking an optional graduate course and work on a special project - an analysis of the strategy underlying an UK ‘success story’ – based on research and interviewing, and completed by drafting and presenting a report. The process gives each scholar the unique opportunity both to build a network of UK peers and to gain in-depth understanding of the UK. Project work is carried out throughout the twelve weeks, with time set aside during weeks 5 and 11 for completing research and drafting the reports and each scholar presents his/her project report to the others in week 12.
The Core Course: A unique course, geared for mature, post-experience scholars, open only to the ‘Gurukuls’: learning takes place through participation in seminars, discussions, debates, in situ conversations with practitioners during study visits, or in individual or team-led case studies. There are no formal lectures. Time-slots are specifically allocated for the Scholars to read and to think alone and to discuss amongst themselves
Within the 12 week Program, nine weeks for the core course seminars, debates, discussions, and study visits (the other 3 weeks are for individual work on projects). Some study visits take place at weekends and some study sessions are organized during evenings in the residence where all scholars have individual rooms.
In each week of the Core Course, there are 6 study sessions: one focuses on the ‘theory and practice of leadership’; the other five sessions and a study visit explore one of the other nine themes:
- Understanding the UK experience (visits to Parliament)
- Development in a comparative perspective (visit to BBC/British Library)
- Globalizations: processes, drivers and leadership challenges (visits to FCO, Amnesty International)
- Emerging global norms and standards for leaders? (visit to EBRD)
- Negotiation in theory and practice (visit to Basingstoke Council)
- Towards good governance: transparency, regulation and public service reform (visit to Scottish Government and Parliament, Edinburgh)
- Building effective, legitimate international institutions – regionally and globally (visit to NATO and EU, Brussels)
- Social integration: dealing with causes of extremism and violence (visit to community development group)
- Leadership for sustainable and low-carbon economic growth
About LSE : The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) is a world class center for its concentration of teaching and research across the full range of the social, political and economic sciences. Founded in 1895, LSE has an outstanding reputation for academic excellence. LSE is exceptional in its international student body, its international faculty and its international teaching and research. The study of social, economic and political problems covers not only the UK and European Union, but also countries of every continent. From its foundation LSE has aimed to be a laboratory of the social sciences, a place where ideas are developed, analyses, evaluated and disseminated around the globe.
Thirteen Nobel Prize winners in economics, literature and peace have been either LSE staff or alumni: George Bernard Shaw (1925), Ralph Bunche (1950), Bertrand Russell (1950), Philip Noel-Baker (1959), Sir John Hicks (1972), Friedrich von Hayek (1974), James Meade (1977), Arthur Lewis (1979), Merton Miller (1990), Ronald Coase (1991), Amartya Sen (1998), Robert Mundell (1999), and George Akerlof (2001). Christopher Pissarides (Nobel 2010) is currently Professor of Economics.
The School has more than 70,000 registered alumni. Around 30 past or present heads of state have studied at LSE, and 30 members of the House of Commons and 34 members of the House of Lords have either studied or taught at LSE.
Level and Duration: Advanced intensive training program, including individual project work, of twelve (12) weeks
Program Dates: 12 weeks beginning late 24 September 2011
CRITERIA FOR ELIGIBILITY
Applicants for this program should be:
- Outstanding mid-career professionals with at least five years of work-experience
- From any field e.g. media, public/private sector, NGO's, politics
- Able to demonstrate leadership in their chosen field or profession (to be assessed from the personal statement provided with the application form and the references)
- With an inner drive to make a difference and looking to form networks & strengthen their opportunities
- Recent graduates may apply but must be able to demonstrate exceptional and outstanding leadership experience through either academic or extracurricular activities
General Eligibility Criteria:
- An Indian national with a valid Indian passport
- Conversant with written and spoken English
You are not eligible if you:
- have in the past received a British Government funded scholarship
- work for the British Government (including the British Council, DFID and PAG's) or have worked with them in the past two years
- apply from another country
- Are not planning to return to India after the course for at least 2 years
Application Process:
Click Here to apply. Only online applications will be considered.
Last date to apply is 11 April 2011
