ISAE-MBDA Programme of Excellence: 5 Indians Set To Fly To Prestigious Aerospace University In France

NEW DELHI, Jun 25 (PTI): When 22-year-old engineering student Arti Kalra from Punjab learnt about her selection to a prestigious aerospace university in France, she felt like “crashing through the windows and flying in the air”. She is among the five bright engineering students who have been selected under the ISAE-MBDA Program of Excellence to follow a two-year master’s course at the prestigious Institut Superieur de l’Aeronautique et de l’Espace (ISAE), situated in Toulouse in southern France, also known for its fine vineyards.

She and her college mate Rashika Jain, and three young men from south India, riding on full-scholarship, are slated to fly in August to Toulouse, home of aviation behemoth Airbus and several other aerospace companies and research centers.

Ishaan Prakash, 22, pursuing his Bachelor’s degree in aerospace from SRM University in Chennai, says he took up aerospace, inspired by NASA’s ‘Curiosity’ Rover Mission.

All five students have an impressive academic track records, he says, adding, besides, grades, the selection criteria also included assessment of the nature of projects we had done during our college days.

Girls like Arti and Rashika feel their achievement would also give wings to the imagination of millions of girls in India, as much as about equality.
“My father never treated me any different than my younger brother. And, I want to tell the world also that girls can do anything, so don’t judge us, dont’s discriminate against us.

And, we will make you all proud,” says Arti, who hails from the town of Khanna in Ludhiana.

In December 2013, MBDA had signed a sponsorship agreement with the ISAE-SUPAERO Foundation and ISAE, thereby setting up the annual Indian scholarship program.

MBDA is a defence major based near Paris that is a partner in the fully-sponsored programme that has already selected over 20 Indian students since its inception in 2013.

“We began the first scholarship in 2014 and that batch graduated in 2016. Since 2014, 23 students have been selected in three different batches. And, now we have five this year,” MBDA India Head Loic Piedevache told PTI.

“The performance of Indian students has been very good and therefore the programme has been extended to three more years till 2020,” he said.
The number of Indian students studying in France is steadily increasing and the French government has set a target of having 10,000 of them per year by 2020, according to Deputy Chief of Mission at its embassy in India Claire Thuaudet.

Source extracts from The Arunachal Times Publications - June 26, 2017