upGrad Foundation to offer scholarships in Data Science, AI to 1,500 girls from J&K

Jammu and Kashmir higher education department has signed an agreement with edtech company upGrad to offer scholarships to 1,500 girls from degree colleges in the union territory for pursuing online skilling programmes in cutting edge technologies like digital marketing, data science and artificial intelligence.

upGrad will be supporting this initiative through its 100% fee waiver for tech-driven programmes to help deserving and shortlisted female learners under Vidya Shakti Scholarships, its social impact initiative.

However, the initiative will not be confined only to online courses and scholarships but will aim to deliver an all-encompassing education experience with added benefits like one-on-one mentoring and learning and guidance through webinars and talks. It will also offer strong placement support in the form of internships and job opportunities facilitated by the upGrad Foundation for enabling positive career outcomes for the learners. The initiative will educate and empower female learners coming from underserved sections and marginalised backgrounds and connect them with role models to guide and inspire them to follow in their footsteps. It will also provide a 70% scholarship for reputed PG courses in Management and Executive PG programme in Human Resource Management.

While access to higher education and focus on skills are among the major goals of the National Education Policy 2020, substantially increasing the number of youths with relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent jobs, and entrepreneurship will also significantly contribute towards the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), 2030.

Add-on skill courses will now be offered as 30-credit integrated courses in 12+18 format wherein 12 credits will be either embedded or as add-on components while 18 credits will be offered as skill training by respective Sector Skill Councils under the certification of NSDC. Skill development infrastructure in the higher educational institutions of J&K has been created in a hub and spoke model and 15 hub and 75 Spoke centers stand already established with seed money of Rs 10.00 crore.

The domains offered include Electronics, Computers, IT, Horticulture, Agriculture, Pharmacy, Paramedical, Food Science Technology, Fashion Technology, Epiculture, Sericulture, Veterinary Sciences, Financial Management, Engineering, etc. The department is also planning to set up 15 centres for innovation and incubation to encourage start-ups and help incubate promising ideas. It is setting up research and innovation hubs in colleges and designating universities as mentor institutions to create an ecosystem of research and innovation.

“The reason why upGrad Foundation was brought to life is now reaping fruits. We are overwhelmed to have joined hands with the J&K government to capture the length and breadth of the region and drive impactful initiatives. We look at enabling college-going learners with tailor-made, affordable, and accessible education that will not only bring them correct professional guidance but will also present learning flexibility for building a rewarding career for themselves,” concluded Sanjay Kumar, president, Corporate Affairs and Public Policy, upGrad.