Ashish Kumar: Ashish Kumar: Samsung Star Scholar brought my confidence back and helped my family

For a farmer, there is nothing greater than land. So when Ashish Kumar’s father had to take a loan against his land in order to pay his son’s IIT fees, he was heartbroken.

Ashish had worked hard all his life to ensure he made the best of what his parents could afford. Coming from Gopalganj, the agricultural capital of North Bihar where 90% of the society depends on farming for their livelihood, Ashish showed keen interest in studying and learning new things. He even had to drop out of school for a full year because his father needed more hands to help with farming. But his inclination towards studying got him an opportunity to be at Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya (JNV), where he was introduced to the Samsung Smart School.

The smart class set up helped him visualize theoretical concepts using multimedia tablets and screens installed there. It was this place where he discovered his love for mathematics and science and first read about the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology (IIT). With his eye firmly on the target, Ashish joined free IIT coaching classes for JNV students and got admission to IIT Roorkie in the Computer Science Branch.

“I did work hard to reach where I wanted, but to see my father take a loan against his land to be able to pay my fees broke my heart. And the fact that it is just a semester’s fee, took a hit at my confidence. It was a very trying time for my family. If it wasn’t for Samsung Star Scholar program, I may have quit engineering,” says Ashish.

At IIT Roorkee, he came across a pamphlet on the Samsung Star Scholar program, which was tailored to provide financial support to JNV students who get admission in the IITs or NITs.

Samsung Star Scholar program offers a 150 scholarships of up to INR 2 lakh for expenses related to tuition, examination, hostel and mess for one academic year and it can be renewed every year up to 5 years.

The selection of first-year applicants is based on their All India Rank (AIR) in JEE Main, however, to get a renewal of the scholarship for the 2nd – 4/5th year, students are required to maintain a Semester Grade Point Average (SGPA) or Cumulative Grade Point Average (CPGA) rating of 5 or above.

The program seeks to financially support less privileged students from JNV schools who qualify to the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) and National Institute of Technology (NIT), fulfilling Samsung’s vision of Powering Digital India by empowering the next generation of Young India.

“Samsung Star Scholar brought my confidence back and helped my family immensely. I could buy a laptop and also could pay back the loan my father had taken. The semester fees used to get reimbursed as a part of the program and that allowed me to focus on my studies and not worry about the future of my family.”

After his engineering, Ashish decided to prepare for civil services, having turned down a 21 lakh job offer with an MNC.

Pradeep Kumar always had an interest in cars. His dream was to be able to build a car with his own hands and that inspired him to become an engineer. The Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya (JNV) passout was a step closer to his dream when he got into the National Institute of Technology (NIT) Kurukshetra, which had a club – Society of Automobile Engineers (SAE) – that builds cars to compete with other colleges at Formula Bharat.

Building a car required money and he did not want his parents to be burdened beyond paying his college fees. That’s when he got to know about the Samsung Star Scholar program for ex-JNV students.

“I would have never been at the racing track looking ahead at the future of my choice without the Samsung Start Scholar program,” said Pradeep, son of a farmer from Rewari in Haryana.

Pradeep didn’t want to be a farmer or a soldier, the only option that most youths in his town got. When he was enrolled at JNV, where he studied at the Samsung Smart Class, he found a new meaning in regular studies. He was studying visually for the first time and that made him inclined towards the sciences.

Studying engineering would, however, mean a huge financial commitment for his parents, who were not thrilled initially, but supported him with coaching at Kota in Rajasthan.

Pradeep got selected as a Samsung Star Scholar during his first semester at NIT Kurukshetra and the scholarship amount not only helped him reduce his parents’ financial stress but also gave him the confidence to chase his dream.

His dream of building a car came true at college. Pradeep and his team built a car that won the ‘Endurance’ round and came 6th out of 90 teams at Formula Bharat, an engineering student design competition where teams compete with a Formula-style vehicle.

Samsung Star Scholar program offers a 150 scholarships of up to INR 2 lakh for expenses related to tuition, examination, hostel and mess for one academic year and it can be renewed every year up to 5 years.

The selection of first-year applicants is based on their All India Rank (AIR) in JEE Main, however, to get a renewal of the scholarship for the 2nd – 4/5th year, students are required to maintain a Semester Grade Point Average (SGPA) or Cumulative Grade Point Average (CPGA) rating of 5 or above.

The program seeks to financially support less privileged students from JNV schools who qualify to the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) and National Institute of Technology (NIT), fulfilling Samsung’s vision of Powering Digital India by empowering the next generation of Young India.

Pradeep completed his engineering last year and has been placed at a leading Construction Machinery Manufacturing Giant in Kharagpur, West Bengal.

Each year Samsung offers scholarships to outstanding students from JNVs who pursue full term courses from these prestigious engineering colleges. The application period for the academic year 2020-21 will be open until January 25, 2021.

Star Scholar program provides financial support of up to INR 2 lakh every year for up to five years to the scholarship recipients that covers a significant share of their educational expenses, including tuition, examination, hostel and mess expenses. Under the Star Scholar program, the selection of 150 first-year students is based on their ranking in the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) Main for B.E/B. Tech/Dual Degree (B.Tech + M.Tech).

“At Samsung, we believe in nurturing young minds and Star Scholar program is aligned with the company’s ongoing effort to support deserving young talent with quality education and encourage a culture of innovation among the next generation of the country. As we embark on the fifth year of the Star Scholar program, we are looking forward to extending more such scholarships to foster young and bright talent that holds the potential to build the nation,” said Peter Rhee, Corporate Vice President, Samsung India.

Initiated in 2016, Star Scholar program is currently into its fifth year and students selected for the program are supported through scholarship renewal for subsequent four years, if they meet the qualifying criteria every year. Samsung India has partnered with Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti since 2013 and runs Smart Class in 583 Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya schools across the country.

At present, Smart Class program is operational at 583 Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya schools. So far, over 4.37 lacs students have benefitted from it and over 8.1 thousand teachers have been trained on how to use interactive technology to teach. Every Samsung Smart Class is equipped with an interactive Samsung Smartboards, Samsung tablets, a printer, Wi-Fi connectivity and power backup.

During the Star Scholar program, the selection of first-year applicants is based on their All India Rank (AIR) in JEE Main. However, to get a renewal of the scholarship for the 2nd – 4/5th year, the applicant is required to maintain a Semester Grade Point Average (SGPA) or Cumulative Grade Point Average (CPGA) rating of 5 or above.

The ‘Star Scholar’ program is aligned with the Company’s ongoing effort to nurture deserving young talent with quality education.

Students can visit Samsung’s website http://www.samsung.com/in/microsite/sapne-hue-bade/star-scholar to learn more about the ‘Star Scholar’ program, and to download an application for enrollment. The application period for the ‘Star Scholar’ program will remain open until January 25, 2021.

Samsung Star Scholar program, now in its fifth year, has so far benefitted 650 JNV students. Under this program, each year, Samsung offers scholarships to meritorious students pursuing full-term B. Tech/Dual Degree (B.Tech + M.Tech) course at any IIT or NIT. The program offers a scholarship of up to 2 lakh for expenses related to tuition, examination, hostel and mess for one academic year and it can be renewed every year up to 5 years.

This year, in line with Samsung India’s continuous effort to encourage young talent, the program has granted 150 scholarships to new applicants from JNVs, of which 85 will begin their journey across 14 different IITs and 65 at 15 different NITs across India this year.

Scholarships for 367 students currently pursuing full-term B. Tech/Dual Degree (B.Tech + M.Tech) have been renewed for the next year. Recipients of renewed scholarships include 175 second year students, 94 third year students and 97 fourth year students.

“At Samsung, we believe in nurturing and encouraging young talent. We have been working with JNV schools since 2013 and we are very proud of the impact our Samsung Smart Class program in these schools has made in the development of students across India. Samsung Star Scholar program, started in 2016, is an extension of this effort and we are very pleased that this year despite the challenges on the ground, we have been able to reach out to these gifted students,” said Peter Rhee, Corporate Vice President & Deputy Managing Director, Samsung India.

The Samsung India and Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti partnership began in 2013 with the ‘Samsung Smart Class’ program which was aimed at providing quality education for children from rural backgrounds. At present, Samsung Smart Class program is operational at 683 Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya schools. So far, over 430,000 students have benefitted from it and over 8,000 teachers have been trained on how to use interactive technology to teach. Every Samsung Smart Class is equipped with an interactive Samsung Smartboards, Samsung tablets, a printer, Wi-Fi connectivity and power backup.

Under the Star Scholar program, while the selection for first year applicants is based on their All India Rank (AIR) in the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE Main), to get a renewal of the scholarship for the 2nd – 4th years, the applicant is required to maintain a Semester Grade Point Average (SGPA) or Cumulative Grade Point Average (CPGA) rating of 5 or above.

To learn more about the ‘Samsung Star Scholar’ program, please visit Samsung’s website https://www.samsung.com/in/microsite/sapne-hue-bade/star-scholar/