SBI Youth for India Applications open now
SBI Youth for India Applications – The SBI Students for India Fellowship is one of the country’s most prestigious rural fellowships, providing urban youth with the opportunity to develop innovative and long-term solutions to problems faced by rural areas.
This 13-month programme, which is unique by design, has attracted Indian students from famous institutions such as Harvard, Stanford, Oxford, IITs, NLU, JNU, NID, IIM, and renowned multinational corporations such as Goldman Sachs, Infosys, Mahindra, Tata Motors, Mu Sigma, and Dell, among others. All Indian adolescents aged 21 to 32 are eligible to apply for the 2022-23 batch this year. Citizens of Nepal and Bhutan, as well as Overseas Citizens of India (OCIs), are eligible.
The deadline to apply is Monday, May 2nd, 2022.
The fellowship, which is run by the State Bank of India’s CSR arm, SBI Foundation, is now in its tenth year, with 450+ graduates scattered throughout major development sector organizations across the country. After completing the Fellowship, over 70% of alumni go on to work in the social sector, primarily in rural development, public policy, governance, and academia. After their SBI Youth for India Fellowship experience, 33 alumni have either created or initiated their own programme, enterprise, or non-profit, while 65 alumni have pursued higher education.
During the fellowship, fellows are exposed to rural realities and challenges, which pushes them to stay committed to addressing society’s critical issues. In 2018, Shriti Pandey (2016-17 Fellow) launched ‘Strawcture.’ By compressing crop waste into agri-fiber panels for industrial and commercial construction, Strawcture’s technique helps to minimise pollution. Shriti was also named to Forbes’ 30 Under 30 Asia 2021 list in the category of industry, manufacturing, and energy. Saloni Sacheti (2017-18 Fellow) was also recognized in Forbes’ social impact category the same year for her initiative ‘Baansuli,’ which she worked on during her Fellowship. Baansuli provides a source of income for the ‘Dangs‘ tribal tribe by handcrafting jewellery from locally obtained bamboo in one of Gujarat’s poorest areas.
Unlearn, Collaborate, Build, and Sustain is the Fellowship’s mantra. While the unlearning experience helps adolescents shed preconceived beliefs and assumptions about rural India’s true concerns, the Fellows also seek advice from professionals and local people in order to better grasp their problems. While focusing on the fourth pillar of sustainable development, the Fellows hope to work on projects by partnering with the community and many key stakeholders to identify and work toward interventions to build their desired projects.
Apart from the chance to make a big social impact at a young age, the fellowship also comes with a number of other benefits, making it a highly sought-after and appealing opportunity for young Indians.
The following are some of the advantages:
Social Impact
The simple possibility of making a positive change, no matter how tiny, may be a powerful catalyst early in anyone’s life.
Fellows learn crucial leadership abilities as a result of their independence and responsibility for the development and implementation of their targeted tasks.
Fellows come from a variety of educational and professional backgrounds, thus their experience is multidisciplinary. While many people use their academic knowledge and previous experience to construct their projects, the nature of each one necessarily crosses multiple fields.
Personality Development
The Fellowship aids in the development of a well-rounded personality.
The Fellowship’s global alumni network is also a tightly knit group that continues to support and create good impact long after their Fellowships have ended. Given the important talents they’re likely to have picked up during their Fellowship journey, many corporations, institutions, startups, and social ventures actively seek out and prefer working with folks with fellowship experiences.
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