Stanford Business School Selects First Reliance Dhirubhai Fellows to Get Financial Support for MBA Study

Five individuals from India have been selected as the first class of Reliance Dhirubhai Fellows and they will receive full financial support during their two-year MBA studies at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, starting in September 2009, the group announced.

The Reliance Dhirubhai Fellowship was established in 2008 to support Indian students with financial need who earn admission to the Stanford MBA Program based on merit, and who are committed to contributing to the development of India. The Fellowship program, made possible through a gift from Reliance Industries Limited under the leadership of its chairman, Stanford Business School alumnus Mukesh Ambani, will cover such costs as tuition, course-related fees, living stipend, and travel allowance--an estimated total value of $170,000 per Fellow.

Honored at a private reception at Reliance Industries offices in Mumbai April 17, the 2009 Reliance Dhirubhai Fellows are Nitish Bandi, Namita Dalmia, Arvind Iyengar, Varun Jain, and Aditi Pany.

Commenting on the initiative, P.M.S. Prasad, President and CEO of the petroleum business of Reliance Industries, said, "We take pride in supporting these outstanding young minds from India who will be able to learn and grow as they engage on the global level. The Reliance Dhirubhai Fellowship is an integral part of our continued endeavor to support education-based initiatives across various levels. We wish the youngsters the very best in their academic pursuits and also all success in their future endeavors."

"We are grateful to have had a tremendous response to our call for applications in this inaugural year of the fellowship," said Robert L. Joss, Dean of the Stanford Graduate School of Business. "Selected from more than 1,500 applicants, the accomplishments of this first class of Fellows speak to the excellent caliber of Reliance Dhirubhai Fellowship applications, and we look forward to the diversity of viewpoints, experiences, and backgrounds they will bring to the classroom in the fall."

The five students are:

Nitish Bandi received a merit certificate from the Central Board of Secondary Education for outstanding performance in mathematics, and was honored with various awards for his volunteer work in the area of the welfare of underprivileged children.

Namita Dalmia is a research associate with the National Knowledge Commission, an advisory body to the Prime Minister of India. She has worked on various areas including vocational education, engineering education, and entrepreneurship. Dalmia was also awarded the Certificate of Excellence by the National Service Scheme in 2006.

Arvind Iyengar worked as a strategic consultant at McKinsey & Company for two years. At the intersection of his interests in sports and strategy, he created a computer-based cricket strategy game, simulating more than 1,000 games. He is currently a freelance sports writer living in Bangalore.

Varun Jain grew up in Hardwar and is finishing his undergraduate studies in electrical engineering at IIT Kanpur, Jain was among 150 students around the world honored with the Goldman Sachs Global Leaders Award in 2007 for demonstrated leadership potential and academic achievement.

Aditi Pany was the first woman elected president of the Students' Union at Birla Institute of Technology and Science, where she completed both a bachelor of engineering degree in electrical and electronics, and a Master of Science degree in economics in 2005. As president, she launched several initiatives, including the formation of the Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership. Based in New Delhi, Pany began her career at the social enterprise TARAhaat, developing IT-enabled services--such as skills development programs--for rural communities.

Applications for the 2012 class of Fellows are now being accepted, and will be available online, free of charge, at gsb.stanford.edu/mba/reliance. All applications must be submitted by 5 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time in the U.S. on Monday, June 1, (5:30 a.m. on Tuesday, 2 June 2009, in India), the group noted in a release.

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