Ashoka University students selected for prestigious UN Millennium Fellowship
The Millennium Fellowship, which was launched in 2013 is a 10 session, semester-long programme that enables the Fellows to be change makers in the society
New Delhi: Twenty five students of Ashoka University, India’s leading Liberal Arts and Sciences University, have been selected for the prestigious UN Millennium Fellowship, a joint collaboration by United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI) and Millennium Campus Network (MCN), a Boston-based global non-profit, for the class of 2021.
The program is aimed at building young leaders on university campuses worldwide. It is a semester-long leadership development program that aims to convene, challenge, and celebrate student leaders working towards UN goals.
For the class of 2021, 25,000+ students applied from 2,200+ campuses across 153 nations. One of the toughest fellowships, only 136 campuses (just about 6%) were selected to host the Fellows for the Class of 2021.
Some of the projects that the current cohort will be working on include working on enabling quality education, need of water conservation, assisting women and girls in rural areas to set up their businesses, conducting election at the grassroots level in making Indian politics more accessible to younger people, building a network of people to stay connected through shared empathy and vulnerability in order to keep a check on mental health.
On being selected for the fellowship, Rohan Chopra, a student of Ashoka University said ”It feels incredible to know that I am one of the few students to have been selected for the Millennium Fellowship Class of 2021. The kind of opportunities, resources and exposure that we will be getting through our interactions from change makers from around the world, through the resources from the Millennium Campus Network and United Nations Academic Impact, it’s really exciting to be a part of this entire journey, and I am thrilled to have been given this opportunity to receive this Fellowship.”
The students believe that there is a sense of responsibility to leave a legacy and set an example for the succeeding cohorts to build a culture of empathetic problem-solving. The students recognise that there is an increased importance of working towards the achievement of UN Sustainable Development Goals both by developed and developing countries especially after the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The students view the fellowship as an opportunity to work towards their passion, contribute to the country’s development and bring a change in the social thread.
Sharing her thoughts on being selected for the fellowship, Meher Manga, a student of Ashoka University said, “I am delighted and thrilled to be a part of the Millennium Fellowship Class of 2021. It is so amazing to see how the Fellowship has united young individuals who are passionate about sustainability and to advance the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals from around the world. It feels wonderful to interact with such dynamic and motivated people and to collaborate and together bring about a positive impact by pulling in our resources and our ideas.”
“We are delighted to learn that Ashoka University students have been selected for the UN Millennium Fellowship for a second consecutive year. We congratulate the 25 Ashoka students who have been chosen from among 25,000+ applicants from 2,200+ campuses around the world to be among the 2021 Millennium Fellows. The experience of the Millennium Fellowship will give our students the opportunity to understand the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and Academic Impact Principles. Our congratulations to the 2021 Millennium Fellows from Ashoka and look forward to the positive changes they will make as they build a strong global network,” said Prof. Malabika Sarkar, Vice-Chancellor, Ashoka University.