Dr Ravi Mehrotra CBE, Executive Chairman of the Foresight Group, and his wife Manju, have established the Manju Mehrotra scholarship to support talented Indian Masters students to study at Royal Holloway.
Junaid, Manju, Ravi and Anju
“Everyone benefits when you donate and support students”, says Dr Ravi Mehrotra who together with his wife, Manju, established two scholarships in 2018 open to new taught Masters students from India.
The Mehrotras are paying forward their success in the shipping and oil industries with the company Dr Mehrotra founded in 1984: the Foresight Group. A maritime engineer by training, Dr Mehrotra grew up in Kanpur, in Uttar Pradesh in India and began his career in 1964 with the Shipping Corporation of India before eventually founding his own shipping business in London.
The two scholarships are offered as a tuition fee reduction of £10,000 for Indian nationals with an offer to study an MSc in International Supply Chain Management, Engineering Management or Project Management, with a special preference for students from Uttar Pradesh.
“We decided to set up the scholarship to help students from our home develop and thrive through education in the UK”, says Dr Mehrotra. “I was particularly keen to help more students from India go into areas related to my business as we need more bright minds in this area. In India, the system of support and progress is not always fair and we were keen to open the door for those who do not have such opportunities elsewhere.”
In September 2018, two bright, ambitious students joined us at Royal Holloway thanks to Ravi and Manju. Junaid, MSc Project Management said, “I am honoured to be one of the recipients of the Manju Mehrotra scholarship. This scholarship has provided a lifelong assistance to continue pursuing my education. It has enabled me to find the courage to be a lifelong learner.”
Anju, MSc Engineering Management, wrote to the Mehrotras and told them: “Your generosity has inspired me to help others and give back to the community. I hope one day I will be able to help students achieve their goals just as you have helped me.”
The Mehrotras, who were very involved in the selection process and took great interest in the beneficiaries of the scholarships, are delighted with their progress. “We are pleased to know that we have given them this experience at an institution we are so fond of. We really enjoyed meeting the scholars and getting to know them better; Junaid was very familiar with where we grew up and it was nice to recall places together. I think they appreciated it too – a taste of home and family, but in London!” says Dr Mehrotra.
The scholarships will continue to support talented students to pursue their education at Royal Holloway.
“We hope to create a legacy of helping bright students from India achieve the next steps in their education at a top UK university, in the unique culture and environment Royal Holloway has. We have worked hard and now have enough to help others. I hope that by setting this example, our scholars will know that they have to work hard to get ahead and then give back to help others.” Dr Ravi Mehrotra CBE
For more information, or if you would like to make a donation, please contact the Development Managers on 01784 414478 or email development@royalholloway.ac.uk.
