New overseas scholarship named in honour of distinguished Indian botanist

A new scheme to support postgraduate students from developing countries is announced today by the John Innes Centre.

The Janaki Ammal Scholarship Scheme will make awards to post-graduate research applicants from 88 eligible countries who wish to study plant and microbial sciences at the John Innes Centre.

The scheme has been set up to reduce the financial impact of UK tuition fees on international students from less developed and lower income countries.

International fees can prohibit students from many countries and this fund aims to enable outstanding students from a wide range of eligible countries to study at the John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, UK

The scholarships are named in honour of Dr Janaki Ammal (1897-1984), one of the first women from India to obtain a PHD in Botany. Dr Ammal worked at the John Innes Horticultural Institution first in the 1930s and then between 1940 and 1945.

Her research led to the publication of the Chromosome Atlas of Cultivated Plants, which she wrote jointly with the then director, C.D Darlington.

Announcing the scheme, Director of the John Innes Centre, Professor Dale Sanders, said: "At the John Innes Centre, we strive for a level playing field on which all students compete on scientific merit, irrespective of nationality, economic status or gender."

"For this reason we've established this mechanism to support students from low income countries with their tuition fees.

"We take great pride in our international alumni - none more so than Janaki Ammal - and we are delighted to name this new scheme in her honour."

The award covers the difference between the Overseas and UK/EU lab-based postgraduate research tuition fees (a difference of £13,805 for the 2017/18 academic year) for students studying at the John Innes Centre.

It applies to graduate students from the least developed, low income or lower middle income countries as defined by the Development Assistance Committee of the Organisation for Economic-Cooperation and Development (OECD).This includes sub-Saharan African countries and India, but excludes middle income countries such as China and many Latin American countries.

The scholarship scheme applies automatically to eligible students, there is no additional application form and the academic recruitment criteria of the John Innes Centre will not be adjusted in any way. Students will continue to be recruited on scientific and academic merit.

Provided by John Innes Centre