Ashoka University Students Selected For Prestigious UN Millennium Fellowship

Twelve students of Ashoka University, India’s Liberal Arts and Sciences University, have been selected for the prestigious UN Millennium Fellowship, a joint collaboration by United Nations Academic Impact (UNAI) and Millennium Campus Network (MCN), a Boston-based global non-profit, for the class of 2020.

The program is aimed at building young leaders on university campuses worldwide. It is a semester-long leadership development program that aims to convene, challenge, and celebrate student leaders working towards UN goals. 

Under the fellowship, the selected students from Ashoka University will be working on diverse projects like educating visually challenged people through audio calls during the pandemic, developing a telemedicine platform which connects volunteer doctors with at-risk migrant workers facing healthcare barriers, alternate solutions to menstrual hygiene, cleaning of Asawarpur water body, a policy framework for instituting waste paper recycling units in Indian universities, establishing mental health support group for people facing pandemic-fuelled isolation, among others. Many of the projects also address UN Sustainable Development Goals like quality education and Life on land. 

For the class of 2020, over 15,000 students applied from above 1,400 campuses across 135 nations. One of the toughest fellowships, only 80 campuses (just about 6%) were selected to host the Fellows for the Class of 2020.  

NamanBhatnagar, pursuing Psychology and Entrepreneurship at Ashoka said, “It feels so empowering to be heard and recognised for the weight of what my team is trying to achieve. I am proud to be a torchbearer of Ashoka. I hope the next generations of Ashokans find it easier to spread our reach and impact even further.”

The students believe that there is a sense of responsibility to leave a legacy and set an example for the succeeding cohorts to build a culture of empathetic problem-solving. Through the Fellowship they want to work towards their passion and bring a change in the social thread. 

Atishay Khanna, majoring in Political Science and International Relations said, “I always had the vision and conviction that dreams could be achieved. Ashoka has always inspired me to fulfil my goals. This is a great achievement for the University and proves what a top-class university it is. This University has always made me realise my vision. It has given a direction to my life to make the goals and dreams a reality.”

“We congratulate our UN Millennium Fellows. At Ashoka University, our endeavour has always been to impart education that enables students to become responsible citizens who contribute to society and go on to become ethical leaders with a commitment to public service. UN Millennium Fellowship would further provide our students with an opportunity to gain more in-depth insight into the skills and expertise required to achieve and promote sustainable development goals”, said Ali Imran, Vice-President, External Engagement, Ashoka University.