The Young India Fellowship (YIF) is a yearly multi-disciplinary postgraduate diploma programme in Liberal Studies. This Fellowship help to bring together 215 bright young aspirants who show exceptional their intellectual ability and leadership qualities from all over the world, and they are trained to become socially promising agents of change. YIF gives them exposure to a variety of subjects and viewpoints, taught by some of the best teachers from India and all over the world.
The objective of YIF is to help aspirants become all-rounder as an individuals who are able to think analytically from different viewpoints, effective communication and become leaders with a pledge to public service. YIF is delivered in joint efforts with the University of Pennsylvania, University of Michigan, King’s College London, Carelton College, UC Berkeley, Trinity College Dublin, Yale University. Students from all disciplines and streams of study are welcomed to YIF; designers, journalists, engineers, commerce graduates or literature lovers are all counseled into reaching their full potential.
YIF initiated its first academic session in June 2011 with 57 aspirants which were selected from 2,000 applicants. By its fifth year, the number of applicants who registered with Young India Fellowship (YIF) were around 4 times more from that were in first year and now the Class of 2015-16 has 198 aspirants attending the programme. Reaching an extent of backgrounds from engineering to fashion designers, filmmakers to agriculturalists, medical to arts, and jurisdiction to journalism, the aspirants reflect India’s intelligence and geographical diversity. They go through a highly selective admissions process and are finally selected on the basis of both for their academic performance and for their passion for creating social impact. The YIF maintains high academic morale, and selection to the programme is decided purely on merit basis; yet care is also taken to ensure that its fee structure does not become a hindrance for aspiring students. Almost everyone is supported through scholarships and other forms of financial help in full or partly.
YIF alumni are making their mark in some of the best organizations across the governmental, private and corporate sectors. They can be found at leading MNC’s such as The Gates Foundation, Microsoft, STAR TV, TIME Magazine, and the World Bank. In India, renowned organisations like Cipla, Genpact, Goonj and Teach for India count YIF alumni among their ranks. Many alumni have gone to global research universities like Cambridge, Harvard, Oxford, and has been accolade with prestigious scholarships, such as the Commonwealth, Fulbright etc.
YIF Started from 2014 became the chief programme of the Ashoka University, Delhi and offers a Post-Graduate Diploma in Liberal Studies & Leadership to the aspirants after graduation. Aspirants also have the choice to convert this diploma into a research-based postgraduate degree called as Master in Liberal Studies.