Last Update: January 26, 2023, 23:50 IST
Bollywood actress Parineeti Chopra (L), Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) spokesperson Raghav Chadha (R)
Celebrating 75 years of India’s independence, the honorees include 75 high achievers and some of the leading outstanding achievers strengthening the India-UK diaspora living bridge.
Bollywood actress Parineeti Chopra, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) spokesperson Raghav Chadha, Serum Institute of India CEO Adar Poonawalla, and Indian women’s football team goalkeeper Aditi Chauhan were among the prominent recipients of the first ever India UK Outstanding Achiever Honors in London.
The India UK Achievers Honors were presented at an awards ceremony on Wednesday night, created by the National Indian Students and Alumni Union (NISAU) UK in association with the British Council in India and the UK’s Department for International Trade (DIT) to celebrate achievements Is. of Indian students studying in British universities.
To mark 75 years of India’s independence, the honorees included 75 high achievers and some of the leading outstanding achievers who strengthen the living bridge between the India-UK diaspora.
“Fifteen years ago, I was a student in Manchester Business school, an overweight, struggling student, with a star in his eye to settle in the UK,” Chopra said in his acceptance speech.
“But then when I graduated in 2009 when the recession hit and I was forced to move back home to India, life’s plans came crashing down. My name Parineeti means destiny and it made the most important impact in my life and eventually I became an actor,” said the actress, who has featured in acclaimed films like ‘Ishaqzaade’ in the past and more recently ‘Unchai’.
Chadha, who studied at the London School of Economics (LSE), in his speech spoke of his “unflinching spirit to serve India” as a member of the AAP’s national executive.
Poonawalla, who studied at the University of Westminster, was awarded for her work in the field of vaccine development, and Aditi Chauhan, who studied at Loughborough University, was awarded for her work in the field of sports.
Other “outstanding achievers” named at the ceremony include Observer Research Foundation (ORF) president and Anglia Ruskin University alumnus Sameer Saran, Birmingham City University alumnus journalist Maria Shakeel and university alumnus senior advocate Menaka Guruswamy. of Oxford.
“The latest figures from last year show that over 120,000 Indian students chose to study in the UK and this number is growing at a CAGR of over 10 per cent,” said Sanam Arora, President of Nissau UK.
“We are very aware of the impact Indians studying in the UK are making, not only in India, but around the world. This is something that we felt is not celebrated enough and not always talked about in numbers for internationally educated students. This honor is an effort to take the conversation beyond numbers and data.”
75 achievers were selected from over 1,000 applications by an eminent jury made up of educational experts.
Vivian Stern, CEO of Universities UK and jury member, said: “The 75 individuals will help us tell why international education is precious and matters and why we must fight to preserve it.”
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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed)