Samsung India has given scholarships to 517 meritorious students at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) and National Institute of Technology (NIT), as part of its Samsung Star Scholar program. These scholarships are offered every year to financially support less privileged students from Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya schools who qualify to these prestigious engineering colleges.

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.