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Bangalore : On the occasion of National Science Day, the Institution of Engineering and Technology, India announced Dhivakar Kumararaja Malarvizhi, a 4th year Student of Electronics Engineering at The National Institute of Technology, Trichy as the national winner of the prestigious IET India National Scholarship Awards, 2021. He will receive a cash prize of Rs. 120,000 for his winning presentation, which proposed a unique solution to avert a potential marine disaster that non-biodegradable wastes from the pandemic could contribute to. His solutioning also featured a working prototype which impressed the jury. Amrita Kesh, from the Indian Institute of Engineering Science & Technology, Shibpur was declared First runner-up with a scholarship prize money of Rs 80,000 and Akshata Patil, from Fr. C. Rodrigues Institute of Technology was declared Second runner-up with a cash prize of Rs 60,000
Shekhar Sanyal, Country Head and Director, IET India, said, “The National Science Day pays tribute to the scientific genius and curiosity spirit of Sir C V Raman. The IET has always encouraged engineers to be creative, to ask the difficult questions challenging our society, and to solve them in unique ways. A big round of applause to Dhivakar Kumararaja Malarvizhi who outshone 16,000 applicants to become the ultimate winner in the country and attempted to solve a pressing challenge brought about by the pandemic. Aside from the prestige of coming on top in such a tough competition, I hope that the scholarship money that the winner, as well as the regional winners, are receiving, helps them in their journey towards excellence. It is a great feat to have risen to the top at such a competitive level.”
The National Finalists competed against 1400+ students in a rigorous, 4-phase online assessment that tested their STEM fundamentals. Shortlisted candidates were asked to present innovative engineering solutions to key societal challenges outlined by the Scholarship Advisory Committee during the regional round. This year’s topics included “Use of futuristic technologies to address waste generated by the Covid-19 pandemic”, “Development of safe and dependable public transportation for a post-pandemic world” and “Use of technology to combat the fake news infodemic”, among others.
“The winner has displayed technical expertise, leadership potential as well as presented his ideas in a convincing manner to the expert jury. We congratulate him on this victory. It is an exemplary achievement and to be able to present his idea to a high-profile national jury is a success in itself”, said Ujani Ghosh, who heads the Scholarship programme for India.
The IET India Scholarship Awards accolades undergraduate engineering students for their creativity, innovation, leadership, and excellence. To commemorate the IET’s 150th anniversary, the Scholarship Awards was relaunched this year in a digital format – and the 2021 edition proved to be the most successful one, drawing over 16,000 applications from engineering students across the country. The previous four editions of the IET India Scholarship Awards drew an overwhelming response from the engineering community, with over 20,000 combined entries from students across India from 2013 to 2016, and a total of Rs 32,00,000 presented as scholarships. Speaking on the vision behind the IET India Scholarship Award, Dr Gopichand Katragadda, Vice President, IET Board of Directors said, “India is a hub for engineering talent. We are a large contributor of graduates to the world of engineering. Still, there are many deserving candidates who do not pursue their engineering dreams for lack of role models and financial support. It is the IET’s goal to nurture and reward deserving young engineering talent from across the country and partner in helping them achieve their dreams.”
The IET India Scholarship Award Advisory Committee includes Professor Abhijit Chakrabarti (Professor, Electrical Engineering, IIEST, Kolkata Chairman – IET India Scholarship Award 2021), Manish Bahl (Associate Vice President, Center for the Future of Work – Asia Pacific and the Middle East, Cognizant), Dr Nandini Gupta, (Professor Department of Electrical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur), Professor Santosh Kumar Vora (Professor and Head of Department-Electrical Engineering, Institute of Technology, Nirma University), Professor Samarjit Sengupta (Department of Applied Physics, University of Calcutta) and Dr Shobha G (Department Of Computer Science & Engineering, R V College of Engineering).