Introducing Masai Scholarships

A door-to-door salesman turned developer; a panipuri stall owner who completely turned his life around to become a developer; an Uber driver who transformed his life to become a software engineer -  these are just a few of the many stories of grit, determination, and courage we’ve seen at Masai. And these are also a testament to the kind of skills that students pick up along the way at Masai to build a new, better world for themselves.

Building on this foundation of recognising skills, Masai has announced the launch of our first set of scholarships for deserving students.

The genesis of the scholarships

The idea to introduce scholarships was the brainchild of Masai CEO Prateek Shukla, and the journey to make that dream a reality took the better part of 18 months. The idea was simple: recognise the efforts of those students who consistently featured in the top echelon of their respective batches at Masai.

These scholarships were intended to give students a perspective on the stage of life they are in and how the learnings they gather from this stage of life will help them shape their future, as well as society.

Once the groundwork had been laid, the challenge of identifying the perfect role models who would truly embody the idea behind these scholarships presented itself in front of them.

In order to identify the correct set of role models it was necessary for them to understand the characteristics of those individuals who were to receive these scholarships -  potential thought leaders who would never shy away from competition, while displaying a work ethic and moral compass that helped them attain excellence in their craft so far.

Finally, they zeroed in on the following individuals:

Mithali Raj

The highest run-scorer in women’s international cricket; the only Indian cricket captain (men or women) to lead the Indian side to two 50-over world cups; the first woman cricketer to surpass the 6000 and 7000 runs mark - just some of the stats that speak to the excellence that Mithali Raj embodies.

Coming from a middle-class household just like the majority of our students, Mithali Raj perfectly exemplifies the way the modern Indian woman can break through the shackles of tradition and go after everything she aspires for.

Bhaichung Bhutia

Born in Sikkim, Bhaichung had a keen interest in football from a very young age. His parents, who were farmers, had other ideas. However, they eventually let him do his own thing once he received a scholarship from the Sports Authority of India (SAI) to follow his dreams of playing football.

The youngest player to score a goal for India at the age of 19, Bhaichung later went on to lead India to the 2005 SAFF Championship. He even went agonisingly close to making the cut in top-division English Premier League football. Bhaichung has left a legacy that inspires younger generations to not just dream big, but also to believe in themselves whatever their situation in life.

That last sentence is something many of our students who come from underprivileged backgrounds have been able to do brilliantly.

What makes the partnership even more meaningful is the fact that Bhaichung has forayed into education, too, with the Bhaichung Bhutia Football Schools, bringing the beautiful game of football to children all over the country.

Masai Scholarships

Masai announced two scholarships in partnership with Mithali Raj and Bhaichung Bhutia - and both closely embody what both Indian sporting legends stand for.

• The Mithali Raj Scholarship for Women in Tech - for women graduates who display an excellent track record academically and inhibit the potential to go on and do bigger things in tech.
• Bhaichung Bhutia Scholarship for Extra-curricular Excellence -for graduates with a strong background in sports, performing arts, or social work in their communities.

Masai is making Rs. 1.5 crore available in academic and community-based fee waivers for deserving Masai students.

Eligibility criteria: This scholarship is available to all students enrolled in the Masai ONE and MasaiX programmes who have completed unit 6 (the first 30 weeks of the curriculum).

The number of awards that will be handed out: One student each per batch per course will receive The Mithali Raj Scholarship for women in tech and The Bhaichung Bhutia Scholarship for extra-curricular excellence.

Deciding factors: To arrive at a list of students who would receive the scholarship the key average weighted scores from Unit 1 to Unit 6 along with a set of documents (different from the ones required for admission)would be taken into consideration. Students would be required to submit these documents at the time of admission itself.

For the Mithali Raj Scholarship for women in tech, applicants must submit one or more of the following documents:

• A letter of recommendation from their school Principal
• A letter of recommendation from the Head of the Department of their undergraduate program.
• A letter of recommendation from the Head of the Department of their post-graduate program.

For the Bhaichung Bhutia Scholarship for extra-curricular excellence, applicants must submit the following documents:

• A letter of recommendation from their school Principal and/or a letter of recommendation from the Head of the Department of their undergraduate program, and/or a letter of recommendation from the Head of the Department of their post-graduate program.
• Official recognition of extra-curricular participation via certificates, contracts, official communications, newspaper excerpts, and other relevant documentation.

It is worthwhile mentioning that once a student gets a scholarship they would need to maintain the following performance standards in order to completely secure their scholarship.

• Maintain a minimum attendance of 90% and
• Must submit 90% of their assignments
• Ensure an average weighted score of 7 or above
• Not receive an Async in any course
• Not indulge in malicious activities such as Plagiarism
• Not be found breaching the Masai code of conduct

How can students apply for these scholarships?

Interested students can apply for the scholarships in 3 simple steps-

Step 1: During the admission process, students would be required to upload the required documents as mentioned above in order to become eligible for the scholarship.

Step 2: Sit for MSAT and secure admission at Masai on the basis of marks scored.

Step 3: Basis the scores from Unit 1 to Unit 6, the students would receive the scholarships.

Know more about Masai scholarships here.