2011 TOEFL® Scholarship Winners from India

Naveed Kanijiyani, Mumbai (US$5,000)

• Pursuing a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from University of Toronto.
• Extracurricular activities: Basketball and class representative.
• Country of study: Canada because it has a superb public education base, exceptional diversity and plentiful learning opportunities.
• Goal in 5–10 years: Become a remarkable mechanical engineer and one day direct and advise prospective students on how to go about planning their future from an early age.

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Gaayathry Ravikumar, Chennai (US$10,000)

• Pursuing a master's degree in chemical engineering specializing in product development from University of California, Berkeley.
• Extracurricular activities: Music, dancing, painting, volleyball, member of The Chromatographic Society of India, Chemical Engineering Association, Student Council, Vice President of the Fine Arts Society — National Institutes of Technology (NIT).
• Country of study: The United States because UC Berkeley offers a course in product development which is Ravikumar's chosen field of interest.
• Goal in 5–10 years: Work in product development toward cost-efficient manufacturing, making quality products available to every segment of society. Intends to start an organization called, 'Akansha' for educating and rehabilitating the underpriviledged.

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Karanveer Mohan, New Delhi (US$5,000)

• Pursuing a bachelor's degree in computer science from Stanford University.
• Extracurricular activities: Organizing various mathematical and IT symposiums, mathematical quizzes and puzzles, writing light verse, theater, chess, puzzle solving, is a member of MENSA as well as the theater club, math society, math club and computer club.
• Country of study: The United States because of the flexibility it offers. Although Mohan wishes to pursue computer science as his major, he has always wanted to study history and philosophy. He feels that studying these subjects will help him deepen his knowledge in computer science with a comprehensive world view.
• Goal in 5–10 years: Work in the field of machine vision and artificial intelligence. He sees a world where every face is stored in a database — where image retrieval and matching are highly efficient.

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Omkar Deshmukh, Mumbai (US$10,000)

• Pursuing a master's in computer science from McGill University.
• Extracurricular activities: Swimming, reading, hiking and organizing events.
• Country of study: Canada because Canadian universities have been doing groundbreaking research with equally outstanding faculty in artificial intelligence and machine learning, Deshmukh's area of interest.
• Goal in 5–10 years: Work in the field of artificial intelligence and machine learning. He plans to complete his doctoral studies within the next five years and then work in academia and research industries. He would also like to apply his work in educational, social and business settings.

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Sruthi Chandrasekaran, Chennai (US$10,000)

• Pursuing a master's in science for comparative social policy from the University of Oxford.
• Extracurricular activities: Swimming, dancing, traveling, reading, writing short stories and poems, is a member of the Indian Delegate and International Trade and Finance Center.
• Country of study: The United Kingdom because it is the very hub of developmental research.
• Goal in 5–10 years: Work with the different stakeholders involved in a decision-making process including governments, corporations, Non-Government Organizations (NGOs) and communities. Having gained invaluable perspective through professional experience, she hopes to emerge as a social entrepreneur, consulting on issues of health, welfare, poverty, education and inclusion through public and private partnerships.

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Apurva Bamezai, New Dehli (US$5,000)

• Pursuing master's in developmental studies from the University of Cambridge.
• Extracurricular activities: Singing and exploring new genres of music. Participated in theatre production activities and seminars/debates.
• Country of study: The United Kingdom because it is the birthplace of developmental studies as a discipline.
• Goal in 5–10 years: Would like to use her academic training to conduct research that combines extensive fieldwork with rigorous analysis of social and rural issues to answer questions that are motivated by and engage policy.

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Pradhayini Ramamurthy, Coimbatore (US$5,000)

• Pursuing master's in embedded systems from Delft University of Technology.
• Extracurricular activities: Participating in literary events.
• Country of study: The Netherlands because it has several organizations and research institutes that are focused on Ramamurthy's area of interest, which gives her an opportunity to test and enhance her knowledge with practical exposure.
• Goal in 5–10 years: Return to India and participate actively in the development and progress of the country. To build affordable, easily operable devices for those with little or no technical know-how and to identify areas of application where such devices will prove most beneficial, such as the health care sector. She aims to be at the forefront of organizations involved in developing such technologies.

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Debajyoti Chatterjee, Kolkata (US$5,000)

• Pursuing a master's in communication engineering from Technische Universitat Munchen.
• Extracurricular activities: Debating, playing chess and participating in mock-German parliament.
• Country of study: Germany because it has wonderful universities and because of his personal preference for German society, language and culture.
• Goal in 5–10 years: Have a career in research as a doctoral and then post-doctoral student. After working in the research field for 10 years, he wishes to return to India and contribute either to the field of higher education or work further as a researcher.

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Dinakar Ayalasomayajula, Hyderabad (US$5,000)

• Pursuing a master's in powertrain engineering from Czech Technical University at Prague.
• Extracurricular activities: Football, swimming, reading, fabrication of all-terrain vehicles and the Indian Railways Fan Club Association.
• Country of study: Czech Republic and France because the program takes place in both countries.
• Goal in 5–10 years: To be recruited by an automobile firm or associated component manufacturer of international repute. He strongly believes in the need to make automobiles more environmentally friendly in order to tackle the ecological problems facing the world. To meet these challenges, he would like to apply the skills and knowledge acquired during the program to contribute in a productive way to the planet.

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