GUEST LECTURE ON ‘SCHOLARSHIP OPPORTUNITIES AND CAREER PATH IN EMBASSIES BY MR. MANJUNATH KS, THE POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC ADVISOR FOR THE UK DEPUTY HIGH COMMISSION IN BENGALURU

The Department of International Studies and History, CHRIST (Deemed to be University), organized a guest lecture on ‘Scholarship Opportunities and Career path in Embassies’, on 11^th September, 2019. The talk was delivered by Mr. Manjunath KS, the political and economic advisor for the UK deputy High Commission in Bengaluru.

Dr. N Manoharan, from the Department of International Studies and History, CHRIST (Deemed to be University), welcomed the speaker, wherein he briefly mentioned the roles that Mr. Manjunath performs at the High Commission, some of them being – advising the High Commissions about how UK can develop relations with India; supervising fellowships, and exploring potential areas of investments from UK firms in India and vice versa.

The talk commenced with Mr. Manjunath, providing a glimpse into his career path, wherein he mentioned that prior to his current position of employment, he was pursuing journalism. During his time as a journalist, he had been intensively covering the Defence Ministry and the External Affairs Ministry, owing to his interest in foreign affairs and foreign policy.

After setting stage for the talk, he progressed to inform the audience about the relevance of the High Commission and the capacity in which they function in the India (paying close attention to South India). He highlighted how High Commissions could facilitate faster and well informed development and growth for individuals as well as corporations. 

He placed emphasis on the most significant and relevant fact of this century - “ the 21^st Century brings with it, a package for the equals”. Having asserted this, he proceeded towards how an engagement between such equals of this century occurs. One of the ways that he mentioned was – how various foreign MNCs have their RnD Centres in Bangalore, such as Shell, Rolls Royce, Amazon, and many more. Thereby, proving that there is more engagement under way, than one could think of, between India and UK or India and any other foreign country.

An adequate amount of engagement also occurs at the educational level, in the form of admission to foreign universities. The starting point of such an engagement is a scholarship. Herein, he points out to 3 important scholarship that UK offers –

1.      Chevening Scholarship Program

2.      The Great Scholarship

3.      The Commonwealth Scholarship Program

The speaker then proceeded to the 2^nd part of the session where he elucidates about the potential job opportunities in UK as well as at the High Commission. He encouraged students to apply to the UK, owing to the reintroduction of the Post Study Work visa.

Mr. Manjunath also provided insights into the roles that an employee at the High Commission would perform. The role entailed identifying the challenges and risks that UK’s  firms would face in India and informing them about the same. In his words – “ It is a bespoke service that the Indian government gives to Indian companies who want to connect with UK and vice versa”

The speaker further suggested that if any student wished to pursue a career with the High Commission, they should keep an eye on all social media handles of the High Commission, where they proactively post job vacancies as and when required.

The session was informative and succinct. Mr. Manjunath was extremely receptive to queries and doubts. The talk concluded with a vote of thanks; Mr. Manjunath was then presented with a memento by Dr. N Manoharan, Associate Professor, CHRIST (Deemed to be University), Bangalore.