“Fifteen years ago, I was a student at Manchester Business School, an overweight, struggling student, with stars in her eyes of settling down in the UK.
“But then when I graduated the recession hit in 2009 and I was forced to go back home to India, with life plans crashed. My name Parineeti means destiny and that’s exactly what played the most important influence in my life ultimately and I became an actor.”
This is how Parineeta Chopra, behind acclaimed Bollywood films most recently 'Uunchai', reacted on being conferred the India UK Outstanding Achiever Honour in London this week.
The India UK Achievers Honours have been created by the National Indian Students and Alumni Union (NISAU) UK in partnership with the British Council in India and the UK’s Department for International Trade (DIT) to celebrate the achievements of Indian students who studied at British universities. To mark 75 years of India’s independence, the honours covered 75 high achievers and some key Outstanding Achievers who bolster the India-UK diaspora living bridge.
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NISAU UK Chair Sanam Arora said: “Latest statistics from last year show that more than 120,000 Indian students chose to study in the UK and this number is growing at a CAGR of more than 10 per cent.
“We are very intimately aware of the sheer impact that Indians who have studied in the UK are having not just in India, but worldwide. It is something we have felt is not celebrated enough and internationally educated students are almost always talked about in numbers. These honours are an attempt to take the conversation beyond numbers and data.”
The 75 achievers were chosen from over 1,000 applications by an eminent jury made up of educational experts.
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“The 75 individuals will help us to illustrate why international education is precious and matters and why we should fight to preserve it,” Vivienne Stern, CEO of Universities UK and jury member.
Others among the Outstanding Achievers list included India’s Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha, Serum Institute of India CEO Adar Poonawalla and Indian women’s football team goalkeeper Aditi Chauhan.
*Info: India UK Achievers Honours
