Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute

Shastri News - September 2008

Contents

• A New Face for the Shastri Institute
• Kanta Marwah Funds a New Lecture Series
• Ravi Seethapathy's Honor Roll Inauguration
• Alumni Update
• News from Members
• New Grants
• New Members
• Upcoming Deadlines

A New Face for the Shastri Institute

We are pleased to announce that we have been making several improvements to our website throughout the past year. You may have already noticed our new look. These changes are a result of your feedback and many hours of work.

The website’s improvements include easier access to application forms, more visibility of upcoming events, a better archive of news articles and a new interactive forum. We appreciate your participation in the continual improvement of our website and we hope you will contact us with any feedback, questions or concerns.

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Kanta Marwah Funds a New Lecture Series

The Shastri Institute is pleased to announce that thanks to the generosity of Dr. Kanta Marwah a new lecture series will be held annually in Canada and India for the next five years. The Kanta Marwah Lecture Series Marking the 40th Anniversary will inform Canadians and Indians about issues of contemporary mutual importance and foster discussion and exchange on subjects of social concern. Please join us in thanking Dr. Marwah for her support.

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Ravi Seethapathy's Honor Roll Inauguration

Dr. Gary vanLoon, President of the Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute conferred the Institute’s Honour Roll distinction to Mr. Ravi Seethapathy in Ottawa on June 12, 2008.

The Shastri Honour Roll distinction is awarded to individuals who have made an important contribution to the advancement of the Institute’s goals of building knowledge and understanding between Canada and India through academic partnerships. Since its founding in 1968, the Shastri Institute has awarded this distinction to select individuals renowned for their knowledge, dedication, and service.

Ravi Seethapathy has a bachelors degree from IIT Kharagpur (India), a M.Eng degree from the University of Toronto and a MBA degree from the Schulich School of Business, York University. He is on the Board of Ryerson University. He is the Chair of the Institute’s Canadian Advisory Council since 2004.

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Alumni Update

As we celebrate 40 years of partnerships with the academic community, we felt it was time to reconnect with some of our friends from the past. We were happy to hear how their lives have been impacted by the Shastri grants and awards they received. Their stories are now published on our website. If your life has been shaped significantly by your connection to the Shastri Institute we would love to hear from you as well.

John Sinclair

He has lost count of the number of times he has been to India, but Dr. John Sinclair is under no illusions about the value of those trips. “It has been a life-changing opportunity for me and for the students who have gone,” says Sinclair, a professor and associate head of the University of Manitoba’s Natural Resources Institute. Continue…

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News from Members

University of Alberta
Dr Romila Thapar to Lecture on Interpretations of Early Indian History in Recent Times

Two New India Studies Courses to be offered this fall

Kwantlen Polytechnic University
Kwantlen Polytechnic Inaugurates New Chancellor

McGill University
Conference on Global Food Security

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New Grants

The Shastri Institute is pleased to launch 3 new grants in 2008.

Shastri Grant to Develop a Canada/India Joint Course
This grant is to be a catalyst for a team of Indian and Canadian scholars to create a new course that will be offered at both Indian and Canadian universities.
(more info)

Grant to promote Instruction in an Indian Language
In order to strengthen the study of India in Canadian universities, we will provide 3 two-year grants to support the delivery of Indian language courses. The courses must begin by the 2010-2011 academic year and must be ones that would not have otherwise been offered by the applicant universities.
(more info)

Guest Professor Grant
In order to strengthen the study of India in Canadian universities, we will provide a grant of $10,000 to support bringing a lecturer from an Indian university to teach at a Canadian university for at least one semester or a summer term. The course(s) must be offered before May, 2011.
(more info)

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New Members

We are pleased to welcome the following new members:
Carleton University
Kwantlen Polytechnic University
the University of Northern British Columbia
The University of Ottawa
The University of Prince Edward Island
The University of Calcutta
The National Law School of Delhi

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Upcoming Deadlines

October 01, 2008
All Canadian Studies Fellowships

October 31, 2008
Partnership Development Seed Grant
Student Excellence Award
Scholar Travel Subsidy Grant

November 14, 2008
Grant to Promote Instruction in an Indian Language
Shastri Grant to Develop a Canada/India Joint Course

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We thank all those who contributed to this edition of the newsletter.

Please forward this newsletter to a friend and email us at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) with your comments and suggestions for future issues.

Editor: Sarah Hawkins

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