Alumni Scholars

Matric Year: 2020 – Subject: MPhil Law – Scholarship: Cornelia Sorabji Scholarship

Laws may be facially neutral in form but have a disparate impact on disadvantaged groups.

Over the past half century, discrimination law has devised the robust category of ‘indirect discrimination’ to recognise and address such forms of covert discrimination. During the MPhil in Law, I hope to study how Indian courts understand the concept of indirect discrimination and explain why and how this category of discrimination has fallen through the cracks of Indian discrimination jurisprudence

While completing my undergraduate legal studies at Jindal Global Law School (India), I conducted empirical research on experiences of discrimination along multiple axes, such as gender, sexual orientation and religion. The generous support of the Oxford Indira Gandhi Graduate Scholarship enabled me to pursue my research interests in human rights and equality law during the BCL at the University of Oxford in 2018-19. After graduating, I practiced human rights law at the European Centre for Constitutional and Human Rights (Berlin), the Max Planck Foundation for International Peace and the Rule of Law (Heidelberg), and the Center for Public Interest Law (Delhi). In particular, I received the opportunity to bring claims of gender-based discrimination in The Philippines before the CEDAW Committee, contribute to capacity building of judges of the Supreme Court of South Sudan, and conduct interviews on citizenship determination with lawyers representing suspected ‘foreigners’ before Assam’s Foreigners Tribunals.

I am extremely grateful to the Oxford India Centre for Sustainable Development and the Cornelia Sorabji Scholarship for enabling me to systematically analyse the meaning of indirect discrimination under Indian constitutional law. As the first woman to have studied law and the first Indian to have studied at Oxford, Cornelia Sorabji pioneered the way for generations of Indian women, such as me, to question practices and patterns of exclusion and discrimination. I hope to use my time at Oxford under the aegis of this scholarship to unearth persisting inequalities in Indian society that have gone unaddressed by Indian courts. In doing so, I look forward to returning to my intellectual home at OIC and Somerville to contribute to the goals of equitable, inclusive, and sustainable development.

Awards and Previous Qualifications

Cornelia Sorabji Scholarship (2020-2021)

Somerville College Alumni Scholarship (2020-2021)

Bachelor of Civil Law (Distinction), Somerville College, University of Oxford (2019)

Archibald Jackson Prize for achieving a Distinction on the BCL (2019)

Bonavero Institute Student Fellowship, Bonavero Institute of Human Rights (2019)

Wilma Crowther Fund, Somerville College (2019)

Oxford Indira Gandhi Graduate Scholarship, OICSD (2018-19)

B.A., LL.B (Hons), Jindal Global Law School (India) (2018)

Overall Gold Medal for Outstanding Academic Excellence during the B.A., LL.B (Hons) (2013-18)

CALI Excellence for the Future Award for best performance in the Global Gender Justice Clinic, Cornell Law School (2017)

First Position on the Dean’s List for Outstanding Academic Excellence during the B.A., LL.B (Hons) (2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018)

Matric Year: 2020 – Subject: DPhil Biochemistry – Scholarship: Ratanshaw Bomanji Zaiwalla Scholarship

In the advanced years of my undergraduate law degree in India, I became fascinated by the idea of the modern corporation and the principles of corporate and financial law that underpinned these corporations.

I was fortunate that this exposure came at a time when these traditional principles were under challenge. A growing body of academic and industry opinion had begun considering whether a stakeholder model (contrasted with the shareholder model) would prove to be better at maximising welfare for all. Around the same time, India witnessed the issue of its first development impact bond (DIB) for purposes of financing the education of girl children in rural areas. The DIB was an innovative, results-based initiative unlike the usual cheque-book philanthropy. Naturally, my interest piqued—here was an example of the transformative potential of targeted private credit and private enterprise to serve as an instrument of social change. My passion in these areas of law and finance had taken firm root by the time I graduated in 2017 with the prizes for the top mark in company law, property law, banking and finance laws and constitutional law. I also received the University prize for the best all-round female student of the graduating class.

Upon graduation, I applied my academic interests to solve real-world problems as a corporate associate in the banking and finance team of a leading Indian law firm. I advised Indian financial institutions and offshore investors on investments in development-oriented sectors such as infrastructure, micro-finance and renewable energy. In law practice, I observed how environmental, social and governance goals were written into legal documents by impact investors to strike the balance between welfare and returns on capital. On the other hand, I also realised how it was often difficult for small-and-medium scale enterprises to fulfil these goals or secure viable funding because of economic and regulatory constraints. On a few occasions, I was glad to see innovative financing models that helped these enterprises overcome their constraints. As a lawyer, I am determined to lead innovation in development finance through a combination of law practice and policy advocacy. The Bachelor of Civil at the University of Oxford offers a unique, inter-disciplinary and academically rigorous opportunity to equip myself in pursuit of these goals. To this end, I will be studying regulation, property and trusts, conflict of laws and financial law at Oxford.

I am truly honoured to be the recipient of the Ratanshaw Bomanji Zaiwalla Scholarship and would like to extend my gratitude to Mr. Zaiwalla, Somerville College and the Oxford India Centre for Sustainable Development for this kind and generous offer of scholarship that has made it possible for me to fulfil my dream of reading law at Oxford.

Matric Year: 2020 – Subject: BCL Law – Scholarship: HSA Advocates Scholarship

I completed B.A.LL.B.(Hons.) from NALSAR University of Law. I graduated as top of my batch, with 13 gold medals for my various academic and other achievements.

I also received the Hon’ble Shri Justice Umesh Chandra Banerjee Memorial Gold Medal for the Most outstanding student with the most consistent overall excellence in academics and extra- curricular activities and Mr. Pavani Seshayya Memorial Gold Medal for the Best Student for Overall Excellence.

I am interested in research and academia. During my time at NALSAR, I have researched and published articles of various areas pertaining to International Humanitarian Law, International Criminal Law, Environmental Law, Constitutional Law, Fundamental Rights etc. I have taught students in my capacity as a teaching assistant for International Law in my final year. I also co-founded the NALSAR Lecture Series on Constitutionalism and led the NALSAR International Law Society, and organised many talks and seminars by eminent academics and practitioners.

I am keen to use my time at the BCL program to pursue my passion for International Law and engage in scholarly research. Having worked on themes such as prosecution of international crimes, use of force and humanitarian interventions, regulating the actions of non-state actors through humanitarian law, immunity of heads of states from international crimes, human rights and sustainable development etc., I was delighted to receive this opportunity to work with the community at Somerville College and the Oxford India Centre for Sustainable Development (OICSD). It is dream come true to be able to avail the resources at OICSD and work towards my interest areas of sustainable development, climate justice and third world approaches to International Law.

I am especially thankful to HSA Advocates and Mr. Hemant Sahai for giving me this opportunity to be the HSA Advocates Scholar this year and enabling my studies at Oxford.

Matric Year: 2015 – Subject: DPhil Biomedical Imaging – Scholarship: Indira Gandhi Scholar

I studied a DPhil in Biomedical Imaging (EPSRC and MRC Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT)). My DPhil research focused on detecting structural anomalies occurring in the brain white matter, thus assisting in the diagnosis of various neurodegenerative diseases.

These anomalies include white matter hyperintensities (WMH, also called white matter lesions), cerebral microbleeds (CMBs), lacunar infracts and perivascular spaces.

I did my Master of Science by research in Indian Institute of Technology Madras in Electrical Engineering, specializing in retinal image analysis. My Masters’ research was focused on identification of various retinal diseases including diabetic retinopathy and age-related macular degeneration in retinal color fundus images, using image computing techniques and machine learning algorithms.

The Oxford India Centre for Sustainable Development (OICSD), provides an excellent avenue for understanding and developing interdisciplinary research, which is one of the main objectives of CDT as well. My scholarship helped me to understand the impact of various other disciplines on healthcare, which assisted me in achieving my long-term goal of promoting sustainable healthcare delivery in rural India through academic research and industrial collaboration. Moreover, I also improved my social connectivity and management skills by organizing OICSD seminar meetings and conference.

Please follow the link to view my blog: https://glitteringdroplets.wordpress.com

Publications

1. Sundaresan,Vaanathi, Ludovica Griffanti, Petya Kindalova, Fidel Alfaro-Almagro, Giovanna Zamboni, et al. “Modelling the distribution of white matter hyperintensities due to ageing on MRI images using Bayesian inference.” Neuroimage. Forthcoming 2018. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2018.10.042
2. Griffanti, Ludovica, Giovanna Zamboni, Aamira Khan, Linxin Li, Guendalina Bonifacio, Vaanathi Sundaresan, Ursula G. Schulz et al. “BIANCA (Brain Intensity AbNormality Classification Algorithm): A new tool for automated segmentation of white matter hyperintensities.” Neuroimage 141 (2016): 191-205.
3. Sundaresan, Vaanathi, Christopher P. Bridge, Christos Ioannou, and J. Alison Noble. “Automated characterization of the fetal heart in ultrasound images using fully convolutional neural networks.” In Biomedical Imaging (ISBI 2017), 2017 IEEE 14th International Symposium on, pp. 671-674. IEEE, 2017.
4. Sundaresan, Vaanathi, Ludovica Griffanti, Giovanna Zamboni, Mark Jenkinson. “Modelling white matter hyperintensities distribution within a population using Bayesian Inference.” Annual meeting of Organization for Human Brain Mapping (OHBM), 2017

Talks:

1. ‘ Modelling structural and functional changes in Brain in disease’ – CDT summer school, Imperial College, London (Spetember 19, 2017)
2. ‘Detection of small vessel disease signs on brain MRI images’ – Translational Neuroimaging Group, Department of psychiatry, University of Oxford (October 9, 2017)

Poster presentations:

1. “Automated characterization of the fetal heart in ultrasound images using fully convolutional neural networks” – 2017 IEEE 14th International Symposium on Biomedical Imaging (ISBI 2017), Melbourne.
2. “Modelling white matter hyperintensities distribution within a population using Bayesian Inference.” – Annual meeting of Organization for Human Brain Mapping (OHBM), 2017, Vancouver.
3. “Improvements in the white matter hyperintensities detection algorithm.” – Medical Sciences Day, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, UK.
4. “White matter hyperintensities distribution modelling with respect to ageing” – Biomedical Imaging festival 2017, University of Oxford, UK.
5. Local Intensity Guided Spatially Adaptive Thresholding of White Matter Lesion Probabilities – OHBM 2018, Singapore.
6. Identifying Subjects with Cerebral Microbleeds in Big Datasets: a Pipeline for Candidate Selection – OHBM 2019, Rome.

Academic Research:

My research project focusses on detecting small vessel disease signs such as white matter hyperintensities (WMH), Cerebral microbleeds, lacunar infarcts and perivascular spaces in the brain MRI images. The first aim is to model the probabilistic distribution of WMH related to ageing and dementia in MRI images, across different populations with memory deficits (OPTIMA), vascular risk (OXVASC) and typical ageing (Whitehall). Such a model can then be used in the discrimination of different disease subtypes (e.g., vascular dementia vs normal) which would be very valuable from a clinical perspective, especially in cases where the early symptoms are similar but treatments should only be administered in certain cases and may be detrimental for others. The second aim is to pursue more fundamental methodological work in the segmentation of lesions, WMH, stroke infarcts and more diverse pathologies in the brain using a combination of supervised and unsupervised machine-learning methods. Although many publications exist in the realm of lesion segmentation, very few tools are publicly available and their performance is still limited in many ways. Additionally, my work addresses the growing need for flexible segmentation tools like this to work with large, wide-ranging imaging databases such as the UK Biobank.

Awards:

1.  Gurantors of Brain travel grant for Annual meeting of Organization for Human Brain Mapping (OHBM) 2017, Vancouver.
2. Shortlisted for ‘Best Paper Award – ISBI 2017’ 14th International Symposium on Biomedical Imaging (ISBI 2017), Melbourne
3. DTC Annual award for publication in journals, Doctoral Training centre, University of Oxford, 2017

Extra Curricular Activities:

1. Tutor at Somerville for Engineering Science students in Hilary Term, 2017
2. Teaching assistant and demonstrator for Biomedical Imaging module, Advanced Image Analysis module and HTML/web designing module 2016-2017
3. Participated in MedIAN hackathon in Imperial College, London
4. Participated and presented my work in Translation Neuroimaging group retreat day in London.
5. Participated in the online student outreach event “I’m an engineer: get me out of here!” which is a discussion forum between school students and engineers, that took place for two weeks from 8th November to 18th November, 2016. The event involved answering the students’ questions and having a live chat with students from different school zones.
6. Serving as an expert scientific mentor in Karta Initiative widening access program.

Matric Year: 2014 – Subject: MSc Water Science, Policy and Management – Scholarship: Indira Gandhi Scholar

I was born in Patna, Bihar but emigrated to the US at the age of five. Twenty years later, I began a journey back to India, so I could personally get involved in development in India and South Asia.

For more than eight years, I have been working in the development sector in South Asia, focusing on helping the poorest segments of society address pressing water and natural resource management concerns.

Prior to Oxford, I worked as a water resources consultant with the International Financial Corporation (IFC) and with the World Bank in India on projects related to water sector reform in the irrigation, agriculture, and rural development sectors in the states of Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu.

Prior to this, I was the Deputy Director of the International Growth Centre (IGC), a global research and policy centre, in Patna, Bihar.  There I designed and led a study on the institutional reform of the Government of Bihar Water Resources Department in flood management and the steps needed to reorganize and strengthen the Department. Prior to the IGC, I worked full time for the World Bank in New Delhi, starting in 2007. My interest in global development challenges began in 2004, when I attended the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) for a Masters in Public Administration in Public & Economic Policy.  My Masters thesis on Information Communication Technology: Reform of Organisational Crisis Management during Natural Disasters was published in the International Journal of Management Practice in 2008.

The Indira Gandhi Scholarship at Somerville College is a once in a lifetime opportunity that enables me to fulfil my dream of pursuing an MSc in Water Science, Policy Management at Oxford University.  This will give me valuable technical skills in the practice of water management and strengthen my background in the policy of water management. I aim to use my learning to contribute to global solutions to address today’s pressing water challenges, particularly those facing India.”

Matric Year: 2015 – Subject: DPhil Biomedical Imaging – Scholarship: Indira Gandhi Scholar

I studied a DPhil in Biomedical Imaging (EPSRC and MRC Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT)). My DPhil research focused on detecting structural anomalies occurring in the brain white matter, thus assisting in the diagnosis of various neurodegenerative diseases.

These anomalies include white matter hyperintensities (WMH, also called white matter lesions), cerebral microbleeds (CMBs), lacunar infracts and perivascular spaces.

I did my Master of Science by research in Indian Institute of Technology Madras in Electrical Engineering, specializing in retinal image analysis. My Masters’ research was focused on identification of various retinal diseases including diabetic retinopathy and age-related macular degeneration in retinal color fundus images, using image computing techniques and machine learning algorithms.

The Oxford India Centre for Sustainable Development (OICSD), provides an excellent avenue for understanding and developing interdisciplinary research, which is one of the main objectives of CDT as well. My scholarship helped me to understand the impact of various other disciplines on healthcare, which assisted me in achieving my long-term goal of promoting sustainable healthcare delivery in rural India through academic research and industrial collaboration. Moreover, I also improved my social connectivity and management skills by organizing OICSD seminar meetings and conference.

Please follow the link to view my blog: https://glitteringdroplets.wordpress.com

Publications

1. Sundaresan,Vaanathi, Ludovica Griffanti, Petya Kindalova, Fidel Alfaro-Almagro, Giovanna Zamboni, et al. “Modelling the distribution of white matter hyperintensities due to ageing on MRI images using Bayesian inference.” Neuroimage. Forthcoming 2018. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2018.10.042
2. Griffanti, Ludovica, Giovanna Zamboni, Aamira Khan, Linxin Li, Guendalina Bonifacio, Vaanathi Sundaresan, Ursula G. Schulz et al. “BIANCA (Brain Intensity AbNormality Classification Algorithm): A new tool for automated segmentation of white matter hyperintensities.” Neuroimage 141 (2016): 191-205.
3. Sundaresan, Vaanathi, Christopher P. Bridge, Christos Ioannou, and J. Alison Noble. “Automated characterization of the fetal heart in ultrasound images using fully convolutional neural networks.” In Biomedical Imaging (ISBI 2017), 2017 IEEE 14th International Symposium on, pp. 671-674. IEEE, 2017.
4. Sundaresan, Vaanathi, Ludovica Griffanti, Giovanna Zamboni, Mark Jenkinson. “Modelling white matter hyperintensities distribution within a population using Bayesian Inference.” Annual meeting of Organization for Human Brain Mapping (OHBM), 2017

Talks:

1. ‘ Modelling structural and functional changes in Brain in disease’ – CDT summer school, Imperial College, London (Spetember 19, 2017)
2. ‘Detection of small vessel disease signs on brain MRI images’ – Translational Neuroimaging Group, Department of psychiatry, University of Oxford (October 9, 2017)

Poster presentations:

1. “Automated characterization of the fetal heart in ultrasound images using fully convolutional neural networks” – 2017 IEEE 14th International Symposium on Biomedical Imaging (ISBI 2017), Melbourne.
2. “Modelling white matter hyperintensities distribution within a population using Bayesian Inference.” – Annual meeting of Organization for Human Brain Mapping (OHBM), 2017, Vancouver.
3. “Improvements in the white matter hyperintensities detection algorithm.” – Medical Sciences Day, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, UK.
4. “White matter hyperintensities distribution modelling with respect to ageing” – Biomedical Imaging festival 2017, University of Oxford, UK.
5. Local Intensity Guided Spatially Adaptive Thresholding of White Matter Lesion Probabilities – OHBM 2018, Singapore.
6. Identifying Subjects with Cerebral Microbleeds in Big Datasets: a Pipeline for Candidate Selection – OHBM 2019, Rome.

Academic Research:

My research project focusses on detecting small vessel disease signs such as white matter hyperintensities (WMH), Cerebral microbleeds, lacunar infarcts and perivascular spaces in the brain MRI images. The first aim is to model the probabilistic distribution of WMH related to ageing and dementia in MRI images, across different populations with memory deficits (OPTIMA), vascular risk (OXVASC) and typical ageing (Whitehall). Such a model can then be used in the discrimination of different disease subtypes (e.g., vascular dementia vs normal) which would be very valuable from a clinical perspective, especially in cases where the early symptoms are similar but treatments should only be administered in certain cases and may be detrimental for others. The second aim is to pursue more fundamental methodological work in the segmentation of lesions, WMH, stroke infarcts and more diverse pathologies in the brain using a combination of supervised and unsupervised machine-learning methods. Although many publications exist in the realm of lesion segmentation, very few tools are publicly available and their performance is still limited in many ways. Additionally, my work addresses the growing need for flexible segmentation tools like this to work with large, wide-ranging imaging databases such as the UK Biobank.

Awards:

1.  Gurantors of Brain travel grant for Annual meeting of Organization for Human Brain Mapping (OHBM) 2017, Vancouver.
2. Shortlisted for ‘Best Paper Award – ISBI 2017’ 14th International Symposium on Biomedical Imaging (ISBI 2017), Melbourne
3. DTC Annual award for publication in journals, Doctoral Training centre, University of Oxford, 2017

Extra Curricular Activities:

1. Tutor at Somerville for Engineering Science students in Hilary Term, 2017
2. Teaching assistant and demonstrator for Biomedical Imaging module, Advanced Image Analysis module and HTML/web designing module 2016-2017
3. Participated in MedIAN hackathon in Imperial College, London
4. Participated and presented my work in Translation Neuroimaging group retreat day in London.
5. Participated in the online student outreach event “I’m an engineer: get me out of here!” which is a discussion forum between school students and engineers, that took place for two weeks from 8th November to 18th November, 2016. The event involved answering the students’ questions and having a live chat with students from different school zones.
6. Serving as an expert scientific mentor in Karta Initiative widening access program.

Matric Year: 2015 – Subject: DPhil Biomedical Imaging – Scholarship: Indira Gandhi Scholar

I studied a DPhil in Biomedical Imaging (EPSRC and MRC Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT)). My DPhil research focused on detecting structural anomalies occurring in the brain white matter, thus assisting in the diagnosis of various neurodegenerative diseases.

These anomalies include white matter hyperintensities (WMH, also called white matter lesions), cerebral microbleeds (CMBs), lacunar infracts and perivascular spaces.

I did my Master of Science by research in Indian Institute of Technology Madras in Electrical Engineering, specializing in retinal image analysis. My Masters’ research was focused on identification of various retinal diseases including diabetic retinopathy and age-related macular degeneration in retinal color fundus images, using image computing techniques and machine learning algorithms.

The Oxford India Centre for Sustainable Development (OICSD), provides an excellent avenue for understanding and developing interdisciplinary research, which is one of the main objectives of CDT as well. My scholarship helped me to understand the impact of various other disciplines on healthcare, which assisted me in achieving my long-term goal of promoting sustainable healthcare delivery in rural India through academic research and industrial collaboration. Moreover, I also improved my social connectivity and management skills by organizing OICSD seminar meetings and conference.

Please follow the link to view my blog: https://glitteringdroplets.wordpress.com

Publications

1. Sundaresan,Vaanathi, Ludovica Griffanti, Petya Kindalova, Fidel Alfaro-Almagro, Giovanna Zamboni, et al. “Modelling the distribution of white matter hyperintensities due to ageing on MRI images using Bayesian inference.” Neuroimage. Forthcoming 2018. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2018.10.042
2. Griffanti, Ludovica, Giovanna Zamboni, Aamira Khan, Linxin Li, Guendalina Bonifacio, Vaanathi Sundaresan, Ursula G. Schulz et al. “BIANCA (Brain Intensity AbNormality Classification Algorithm): A new tool for automated segmentation of white matter hyperintensities.” Neuroimage 141 (2016): 191-205.
3. Sundaresan, Vaanathi, Christopher P. Bridge, Christos Ioannou, and J. Alison Noble. “Automated characterization of the fetal heart in ultrasound images using fully convolutional neural networks.” In Biomedical Imaging (ISBI 2017), 2017 IEEE 14th International Symposium on, pp. 671-674. IEEE, 2017.
4. Sundaresan, Vaanathi, Ludovica Griffanti, Giovanna Zamboni, Mark Jenkinson. “Modelling white matter hyperintensities distribution within a population using Bayesian Inference.” Annual meeting of Organization for Human Brain Mapping (OHBM), 2017

Talks:

1. ‘ Modelling structural and functional changes in Brain in disease’ – CDT summer school, Imperial College, London (Spetember 19, 2017)
2. ‘Detection of small vessel disease signs on brain MRI images’ – Translational Neuroimaging Group, Department of psychiatry, University of Oxford (October 9, 2017)

Poster presentations:

1. “Automated characterization of the fetal heart in ultrasound images using fully convolutional neural networks” – 2017 IEEE 14th International Symposium on Biomedical Imaging (ISBI 2017), Melbourne.
2. “Modelling white matter hyperintensities distribution within a population using Bayesian Inference.” – Annual meeting of Organization for Human Brain Mapping (OHBM), 2017, Vancouver.
3. “Improvements in the white matter hyperintensities detection algorithm.” – Medical Sciences Day, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, UK.
4. “White matter hyperintensities distribution modelling with respect to ageing” – Biomedical Imaging festival 2017, University of Oxford, UK.
5. Local Intensity Guided Spatially Adaptive Thresholding of White Matter Lesion Probabilities – OHBM 2018, Singapore.
6. Identifying Subjects with Cerebral Microbleeds in Big Datasets: a Pipeline for Candidate Selection – OHBM 2019, Rome.

Academic Research:

My research project focusses on detecting small vessel disease signs such as white matter hyperintensities (WMH), Cerebral microbleeds, lacunar infarcts and perivascular spaces in the brain MRI images. The first aim is to model the probabilistic distribution of WMH related to ageing and dementia in MRI images, across different populations with memory deficits (OPTIMA), vascular risk (OXVASC) and typical ageing (Whitehall). Such a model can then be used in the discrimination of different disease subtypes (e.g., vascular dementia vs normal) which would be very valuable from a clinical perspective, especially in cases where the early symptoms are similar but treatments should only be administered in certain cases and may be detrimental for others. The second aim is to pursue more fundamental methodological work in the segmentation of lesions, WMH, stroke infarcts and more diverse pathologies in the brain using a combination of supervised and unsupervised machine-learning methods. Although many publications exist in the realm of lesion segmentation, very few tools are publicly available and their performance is still limited in many ways. Additionally, my work addresses the growing need for flexible segmentation tools like this to work with large, wide-ranging imaging databases such as the UK Biobank.

Awards:

1.  Gurantors of Brain travel grant for Annual meeting of Organization for Human Brain Mapping (OHBM) 2017, Vancouver.
2. Shortlisted for ‘Best Paper Award – ISBI 2017’ 14th International Symposium on Biomedical Imaging (ISBI 2017), Melbourne
3. DTC Annual award for publication in journals, Doctoral Training centre, University of Oxford, 2017

Extra Curricular Activities:

1. Tutor at Somerville for Engineering Science students in Hilary Term, 2017
2. Teaching assistant and demonstrator for Biomedical Imaging module, Advanced Image Analysis module and HTML/web designing module 2016-2017
3. Participated in MedIAN hackathon in Imperial College, London
4. Participated and presented my work in Translation Neuroimaging group retreat day in London.
5. Participated in the online student outreach event “I’m an engineer: get me out of here!” which is a discussion forum between school students and engineers, that took place for two weeks from 8th November to 18th November, 2016. The event involved answering the students’ questions and having a live chat with students from different school zones.
6. Serving as an expert scientific mentor in Karta Initiative widening access program.

Matric Year: 2014 – Subject: MSc Water Science, Policy and Management – Scholarship: Indira Gandhi Scholar

I was born in Patna, Bihar but emigrated to the US at the age of five. Twenty years later, I began a journey back to India, so I could personally get involved in development in India and South Asia.

For more than eight years, I have been working in the development sector in South Asia, focusing on helping the poorest segments of society address pressing water and natural resource management concerns.

Prior to Oxford, I worked as a water resources consultant with the International Financial Corporation (IFC) and with the World Bank in India on projects related to water sector reform in the irrigation, agriculture, and rural development sectors in the states of Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu.

Prior to this, I was the Deputy Director of the International Growth Centre (IGC), a global research and policy centre, in Patna, Bihar.  There I designed and led a study on the institutional reform of the Government of Bihar Water Resources Department in flood management and the steps needed to reorganize and strengthen the Department. Prior to the IGC, I worked full time for the World Bank in New Delhi, starting in 2007. My interest in global development challenges began in 2004, when I attended the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) for a Masters in Public Administration in Public & Economic Policy.  My Masters thesis on Information Communication Technology: Reform of Organisational Crisis Management during Natural Disasters was published in the International Journal of Management Practice in 2008.

The Indira Gandhi Scholarship at Somerville College is a once in a lifetime opportunity that enables me to fulfil my dream of pursuing an MSc in Water Science, Policy Management at Oxford University.  This will give me valuable technical skills in the practice of water management and strengthen my background in the policy of water management. I aim to use my learning to contribute to global solutions to address today’s pressing water challenges, particularly those facing India.”

Matric Year: 2020 – Subject: DPhil Biochemistry – Scholarship: Ratanshaw Bomanji Zaiwalla Scholarship

In the advanced years of my undergraduate law degree in India, I became fascinated by the idea of the modern corporation and the principles of corporate and financial law that underpinned these corporations.

I was fortunate that this exposure came at a time when these traditional principles were under challenge. A growing body of academic and industry opinion had begun considering whether a stakeholder model (contrasted with the shareholder model) would prove to be better at maximising welfare for all. Around the same time, India witnessed the issue of its first development impact bond (DIB) for purposes of financing the education of girl children in rural areas. The DIB was an innovative, results-based initiative unlike the usual cheque-book philanthropy. Naturally, my interest piqued—here was an example of the transformative potential of targeted private credit and private enterprise to serve as an instrument of social change. My passion in these areas of law and finance had taken firm root by the time I graduated in 2017 with the prizes for the top mark in company law, property law, banking and finance laws and constitutional law. I also received the University prize for the best all-round female student of the graduating class.

Upon graduation, I applied my academic interests to solve real-world problems as a corporate associate in the banking and finance team of a leading Indian law firm. I advised Indian financial institutions and offshore investors on investments in development-oriented sectors such as infrastructure, micro-finance and renewable energy. In law practice, I observed how environmental, social and governance goals were written into legal documents by impact investors to strike the balance between welfare and returns on capital. On the other hand, I also realised how it was often difficult for small-and-medium scale enterprises to fulfil these goals or secure viable funding because of economic and regulatory constraints. On a few occasions, I was glad to see innovative financing models that helped these enterprises overcome their constraints. As a lawyer, I am determined to lead innovation in development finance through a combination of law practice and policy advocacy. The Bachelor of Civil at the University of Oxford offers a unique, inter-disciplinary and academically rigorous opportunity to equip myself in pursuit of these goals. To this end, I will be studying regulation, property and trusts, conflict of laws and financial law at Oxford.

I am truly honoured to be the recipient of the Ratanshaw Bomanji Zaiwalla Scholarship and would like to extend my gratitude to Mr. Zaiwalla, Somerville College and the Oxford India Centre for Sustainable Development for this kind and generous offer of scholarship that has made it possible for me to fulfil my dream of reading law at Oxford.

Matric Year: 2020 – Subject: BCL Law – Scholarship: HSA Advocates Scholarship

I completed B.A.LL.B.(Hons.) from NALSAR University of Law. I graduated as top of my batch, with 13 gold medals for my various academic and other achievements.

I also received the Hon’ble Shri Justice Umesh Chandra Banerjee Memorial Gold Medal for the Most outstanding student with the most consistent overall excellence in academics and extra- curricular activities and Mr. Pavani Seshayya Memorial Gold Medal for the Best Student for Overall Excellence.

I am interested in research and academia. During my time at NALSAR, I have researched and published articles of various areas pertaining to International Humanitarian Law, International Criminal Law, Environmental Law, Constitutional Law, Fundamental Rights etc. I have taught students in my capacity as a teaching assistant for International Law in my final year. I also co-founded the NALSAR Lecture Series on Constitutionalism and led the NALSAR International Law Society, and organised many talks and seminars by eminent academics and practitioners.

I am keen to use my time at the BCL program to pursue my passion for International Law and engage in scholarly research. Having worked on themes such as prosecution of international crimes, use of force and humanitarian interventions, regulating the actions of non-state actors through humanitarian law, immunity of heads of states from international crimes, human rights and sustainable development etc., I was delighted to receive this opportunity to work with the community at Somerville College and the Oxford India Centre for Sustainable Development (OICSD). It is dream come true to be able to avail the resources at OICSD and work towards my interest areas of sustainable development, climate justice and third world approaches to International Law.

I am especially thankful to HSA Advocates and Mr. Hemant Sahai for giving me this opportunity to be the HSA Advocates Scholar this year and enabling my studies at Oxford.

Matric Year: 2015 – Subject: DPhil Biomedical Imaging – Scholarship: Indira Gandhi Scholar

I studied a DPhil in Biomedical Imaging (EPSRC and MRC Centre for Doctoral Training (CDT)). My DPhil research focused on detecting structural anomalies occurring in the brain white matter, thus assisting in the diagnosis of various neurodegenerative diseases.

These anomalies include white matter hyperintensities (WMH, also called white matter lesions), cerebral microbleeds (CMBs), lacunar infracts and perivascular spaces.

I did my Master of Science by research in Indian Institute of Technology Madras in Electrical Engineering, specializing in retinal image analysis. My Masters’ research was focused on identification of various retinal diseases including diabetic retinopathy and age-related macular degeneration in retinal color fundus images, using image computing techniques and machine learning algorithms.

The Oxford India Centre for Sustainable Development (OICSD), provides an excellent avenue for understanding and developing interdisciplinary research, which is one of the main objectives of CDT as well. My scholarship helped me to understand the impact of various other disciplines on healthcare, which assisted me in achieving my long-term goal of promoting sustainable healthcare delivery in rural India through academic research and industrial collaboration. Moreover, I also improved my social connectivity and management skills by organizing OICSD seminar meetings and conference.

Please follow the link to view my blog: https://glitteringdroplets.wordpress.com

Publications

1. Sundaresan,Vaanathi, Ludovica Griffanti, Petya Kindalova, Fidel Alfaro-Almagro, Giovanna Zamboni, et al. “Modelling the distribution of white matter hyperintensities due to ageing on MRI images using Bayesian inference.” Neuroimage. Forthcoming 2018. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2018.10.042
2. Griffanti, Ludovica, Giovanna Zamboni, Aamira Khan, Linxin Li, Guendalina Bonifacio, Vaanathi Sundaresan, Ursula G. Schulz et al. “BIANCA (Brain Intensity AbNormality Classification Algorithm): A new tool for automated segmentation of white matter hyperintensities.” Neuroimage 141 (2016): 191-205.
3. Sundaresan, Vaanathi, Christopher P. Bridge, Christos Ioannou, and J. Alison Noble. “Automated characterization of the fetal heart in ultrasound images using fully convolutional neural networks.” In Biomedical Imaging (ISBI 2017), 2017 IEEE 14th International Symposium on, pp. 671-674. IEEE, 2017.
4. Sundaresan, Vaanathi, Ludovica Griffanti, Giovanna Zamboni, Mark Jenkinson. “Modelling white matter hyperintensities distribution within a population using Bayesian Inference.” Annual meeting of Organization for Human Brain Mapping (OHBM), 2017

Talks:

1. ‘ Modelling structural and functional changes in Brain in disease’ – CDT summer school, Imperial College, London (Spetember 19, 2017)
2. ‘Detection of small vessel disease signs on brain MRI images’ – Translational Neuroimaging Group, Department of psychiatry, University of Oxford (October 9, 2017)

Poster presentations:

1. “Automated characterization of the fetal heart in ultrasound images using fully convolutional neural networks” – 2017 IEEE 14th International Symposium on Biomedical Imaging (ISBI 2017), Melbourne.
2. “Modelling white matter hyperintensities distribution within a population using Bayesian Inference.” – Annual meeting of Organization for Human Brain Mapping (OHBM), 2017, Vancouver.
3. “Improvements in the white matter hyperintensities detection algorithm.” – Medical Sciences Day, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, UK.
4. “White matter hyperintensities distribution modelling with respect to ageing” – Biomedical Imaging festival 2017, University of Oxford, UK.
5. Local Intensity Guided Spatially Adaptive Thresholding of White Matter Lesion Probabilities – OHBM 2018, Singapore.
6. Identifying Subjects with Cerebral Microbleeds in Big Datasets: a Pipeline for Candidate Selection – OHBM 2019, Rome.

Academic Research:

My research project focusses on detecting small vessel disease signs such as white matter hyperintensities (WMH), Cerebral microbleeds, lacunar infarcts and perivascular spaces in the brain MRI images. The first aim is to model the probabilistic distribution of WMH related to ageing and dementia in MRI images, across different populations with memory deficits (OPTIMA), vascular risk (OXVASC) and typical ageing (Whitehall). Such a model can then be used in the discrimination of different disease subtypes (e.g., vascular dementia vs normal) which would be very valuable from a clinical perspective, especially in cases where the early symptoms are similar but treatments should only be administered in certain cases and may be detrimental for others. The second aim is to pursue more fundamental methodological work in the segmentation of lesions, WMH, stroke infarcts and more diverse pathologies in the brain using a combination of supervised and unsupervised machine-learning methods. Although many publications exist in the realm of lesion segmentation, very few tools are publicly available and their performance is still limited in many ways. Additionally, my work addresses the growing need for flexible segmentation tools like this to work with large, wide-ranging imaging databases such as the UK Biobank.

Awards:

1.  Gurantors of Brain travel grant for Annual meeting of Organization for Human Brain Mapping (OHBM) 2017, Vancouver.
2. Shortlisted for ‘Best Paper Award – ISBI 2017’ 14th International Symposium on Biomedical Imaging (ISBI 2017), Melbourne
3. DTC Annual award for publication in journals, Doctoral Training centre, University of Oxford, 2017

Extra Curricular Activities:

1. Tutor at Somerville for Engineering Science students in Hilary Term, 2017
2. Teaching assistant and demonstrator for Biomedical Imaging module, Advanced Image Analysis module and HTML/web designing module 2016-2017
3. Participated in MedIAN hackathon in Imperial College, London
4. Participated and presented my work in Translation Neuroimaging group retreat day in London.
5. Participated in the online student outreach event “I’m an engineer: get me out of here!” which is a discussion forum between school students and engineers, that took place for two weeks from 8th November to 18th November, 2016. The event involved answering the students’ questions and having a live chat with students from different school zones.
6. Serving as an expert scientific mentor in Karta Initiative widening access program.

Matric Year: 2014 – Subject: MSc Water Science, Policy and Management – Scholarship: Indira Gandhi Scholar

I was born in Patna, Bihar but emigrated to the US at the age of five. Twenty years later, I began a journey back to India, so I could personally get involved in development in India and South Asia.

For more than eight years, I have been working in the development sector in South Asia, focusing on helping the poorest segments of society address pressing water and natural resource management concerns.

Prior to Oxford, I worked as a water resources consultant with the International Financial Corporation (IFC) and with the World Bank in India on projects related to water sector reform in the irrigation, agriculture, and rural development sectors in the states of Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu.

Prior to this, I was the Deputy Director of the International Growth Centre (IGC), a global research and policy centre, in Patna, Bihar.  There I designed and led a study on the institutional reform of the Government of Bihar Water Resources Department in flood management and the steps needed to reorganize and strengthen the Department. Prior to the IGC, I worked full time for the World Bank in New Delhi, starting in 2007. My interest in global development challenges began in 2004, when I attended the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) for a Masters in Public Administration in Public & Economic Policy.  My Masters thesis on Information Communication Technology: Reform of Organisational Crisis Management during Natural Disasters was published in the International Journal of Management Practice in 2008.

The Indira Gandhi Scholarship at Somerville College is a once in a lifetime opportunity that enables me to fulfil my dream of pursuing an MSc in Water Science, Policy Management at Oxford University.  This will give me valuable technical skills in the practice of water management and strengthen my background in the policy of water management. I aim to use my learning to contribute to global solutions to address today’s pressing water challenges, particularly those facing India.”

Matric Year: 2019 – Subject: MSc Water Science, Policy and Management – Scholarship: Mary De Zouche Graduate Scholar

I am interested in the process and means through which scientific knowledge finds its way into decision making specifically with respect to water and sustainability.

This is a strong motivation for my pursuing the Water Science, Policy and Management (WSPM) master’s programme at Oxford.

My educational background comprises a prior master’s in Environmental Studies and Resource Management from TERI School of Advanced Studies (TERI-SAS) in New Delhi, India and an undergraduate in Chemistry, Environmental Science and Zoology from St. Joseph’s College (Autonomous) Bangalore, India.

I have increasingly focused on water science – first through investigating and modelling wildfire-hydrology interactions in the Garhwal Himalayas for my master’s thesis and then as a researcher with the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE), Bangalore, where I built a simple model for a series of cascading urban lakes.

The Oxford India Centre has played a critical role in supporting me to be a scholar in the WSPM programme for which I am most grateful. OICSD enables me to maintain a connection with the Indian context, which I value greatly, since with climate change and the rapid pace of urbanization, water availability and distribution are huge challenges for India.

Matric Year: 2020 – Subject: MPhil Law – Scholarship: Cornelia Sorabji Scholarship

Laws may be facially neutral in form but have a disparate impact on disadvantaged groups.

Over the past half century, discrimination law has devised the robust category of ‘indirect discrimination’ to recognise and address such forms of covert discrimination. During the MPhil in Law, I hope to study how Indian courts understand the concept of indirect discrimination and explain why and how this category of discrimination has fallen through the cracks of Indian discrimination jurisprudence

While completing my undergraduate legal studies at Jindal Global Law School (India), I conducted empirical research on experiences of discrimination along multiple axes, such as gender, sexual orientation and religion. The generous support of the Oxford Indira Gandhi Graduate Scholarship enabled me to pursue my research interests in human rights and equality law during the BCL at the University of Oxford in 2018-19. After graduating, I practiced human rights law at the European Centre for Constitutional and Human Rights (Berlin), the Max Planck Foundation for International Peace and the Rule of Law (Heidelberg), and the Center for Public Interest Law (Delhi). In particular, I received the opportunity to bring claims of gender-based discrimination in The Philippines before the CEDAW Committee, contribute to capacity building of judges of the Supreme Court of South Sudan, and conduct interviews on citizenship determination with lawyers representing suspected ‘foreigners’ before Assam’s Foreigners Tribunals.

I am extremely grateful to the Oxford India Centre for Sustainable Development and the Cornelia Sorabji Scholarship for enabling me to systematically analyse the meaning of indirect discrimination under Indian constitutional law. As the first woman to have studied law and the first Indian to have studied at Oxford, Cornelia Sorabji pioneered the way for generations of Indian women, such as me, to question practices and patterns of exclusion and discrimination. I hope to use my time at Oxford under the aegis of this scholarship to unearth persisting inequalities in Indian society that have gone unaddressed by Indian courts. In doing so, I look forward to returning to my intellectual home at OIC and Somerville to contribute to the goals of equitable, inclusive, and sustainable development.

Awards and Previous Qualifications

Cornelia Sorabji Scholarship (2020-2021)

Somerville College Alumni Scholarship (2020-2021)

Bachelor of Civil Law (Distinction), Somerville College, University of Oxford (2019)

Archibald Jackson Prize for achieving a Distinction on the BCL (2019)

Bonavero Institute Student Fellowship, Bonavero Institute of Human Rights (2019)

Wilma Crowther Fund, Somerville College (2019)

Oxford Indira Gandhi Graduate Scholarship, OICSD (2018-19)

B.A., LL.B (Hons), Jindal Global Law School (India) (2018)

Overall Gold Medal for Outstanding Academic Excellence during the B.A., LL.B (Hons) (2013-18)

CALI Excellence for the Future Award for best performance in the Global Gender Justice Clinic, Cornell Law School (2017)

First Position on the Dean’s List for Outstanding Academic Excellence during the B.A., LL.B (Hons) (2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018)

Matric Year: 2020 – Subject: DPhil Biochemistry – Scholarship: Ratanshaw Bomanji Zaiwalla Scholarship

In the advanced years of my undergraduate law degree in India, I became fascinated by the idea of the modern corporation and the principles of corporate and financial law that underpinned these corporations.

I was fortunate that this exposure came at a time when these traditional principles were under challenge. A growing body of academic and industry opinion had begun considering whether a stakeholder model (contrasted with the shareholder model) would prove to be better at maximising welfare for all. Around the same time, India witnessed the issue of its first development impact bond (DIB) for purposes of financing the education of girl children in rural areas. The DIB was an innovative, results-based initiative unlike the usual cheque-book philanthropy. Naturally, my interest piqued—here was an example of the transformative potential of targeted private credit and private enterprise to serve as an instrument of social change. My passion in these areas of law and finance had taken firm root by the time I graduated in 2017 with the prizes for the top mark in company law, property law, banking and finance laws and constitutional law. I also received the University prize for the best all-round female student of the graduating class.

Upon graduation, I applied my academic interests to solve real-world problems as a corporate associate in the banking and finance team of a leading Indian law firm. I advised Indian financial institutions and offshore investors on investments in development-oriented sectors such as infrastructure, micro-finance and renewable energy. In law practice, I observed how environmental, social and governance goals were written into legal documents by impact investors to strike the balance between welfare and returns on capital. On the other hand, I also realised how it was often difficult for small-and-medium scale enterprises to fulfil these goals or secure viable funding because of economic and regulatory constraints. On a few occasions, I was glad to see innovative financing models that helped these enterprises overcome their constraints. As a lawyer, I am determined to lead innovation in development finance through a combination of law practice and policy advocacy. The Bachelor of Civil at the University of Oxford offers a unique, inter-disciplinary and academically rigorous opportunity to equip myself in pursuit of these goals. To this end, I will be studying regulation, property and trusts, conflict of laws and financial law at Oxford.

I am truly honoured to be the recipient of the Ratanshaw Bomanji Zaiwalla Scholarship and would like to extend my gratitude to Mr. Zaiwalla, Somerville College and the Oxford India Centre for Sustainable Development for this kind and generous offer of scholarship that has made it possible for me to fulfil my dream of reading law at Oxford.

Matric Year: 2020 – Subject: MPhil Law – Scholarship: Cornelia Sorabji Scholarship

Laws may be facially neutral in form but have a disparate impact on disadvantaged groups.

Over the past half century, discrimination law has devised the robust category of ‘indirect discrimination’ to recognise and address such forms of covert discrimination. During the MPhil in Law, I hope to study how Indian courts understand the concept of indirect discrimination and explain why and how this category of discrimination has fallen through the cracks of Indian discrimination jurisprudence

While completing my undergraduate legal studies at Jindal Global Law School (India), I conducted empirical research on experiences of discrimination along multiple axes, such as gender, sexual orientation and religion. The generous support of the Oxford Indira Gandhi Graduate Scholarship enabled me to pursue my research interests in human rights and equality law during the BCL at the University of Oxford in 2018-19. After graduating, I practiced human rights law at the European Centre for Constitutional and Human Rights (Berlin), the Max Planck Foundation for International Peace and the Rule of Law (Heidelberg), and the Center for Public Interest Law (Delhi). In particular, I received the opportunity to bring claims of gender-based discrimination in The Philippines before the CEDAW Committee, contribute to capacity building of judges of the Supreme Court of South Sudan, and conduct interviews on citizenship determination with lawyers representing suspected ‘foreigners’ before Assam’s Foreigners Tribunals.

I am extremely grateful to the Oxford India Centre for Sustainable Development and the Cornelia Sorabji Scholarship for enabling me to systematically analyse the meaning of indirect discrimination under Indian constitutional law. As the first woman to have studied law and the first Indian to have studied at Oxford, Cornelia Sorabji pioneered the way for generations of Indian women, such as me, to question practices and patterns of exclusion and discrimination. I hope to use my time at Oxford under the aegis of this scholarship to unearth persisting inequalities in Indian society that have gone unaddressed by Indian courts. In doing so, I look forward to returning to my intellectual home at OIC and Somerville to contribute to the goals of equitable, inclusive, and sustainable development.

Awards and Previous Qualifications

Cornelia Sorabji Scholarship (2020-2021)

Somerville College Alumni Scholarship (2020-2021)

Bachelor of Civil Law (Distinction), Somerville College, University of Oxford (2019)

Archibald Jackson Prize for achieving a Distinction on the BCL (2019)

Bonavero Institute Student Fellowship, Bonavero Institute of Human Rights (2019)

Wilma Crowther Fund, Somerville College (2019)

Oxford Indira Gandhi Graduate Scholarship, OICSD (2018-19)

B.A., LL.B (Hons), Jindal Global Law School (India) (2018)

Overall Gold Medal for Outstanding Academic Excellence during the B.A., LL.B (Hons) (2013-18)

CALI Excellence for the Future Award for best performance in the Global Gender Justice Clinic, Cornell Law School (2017)

First Position on the Dean’s List for Outstanding Academic Excellence during the B.A., LL.B (Hons) (2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018)

Matric Year: 2020 – Subject: MPhil Law – Scholarship: Cornelia Sorabji Scholarship

Laws may be facially neutral in form but have a disparate impact on disadvantaged groups.

Over the past half century, discrimination law has devised the robust category of ‘indirect discrimination’ to recognise and address such forms of covert discrimination. During the MPhil in Law, I hope to study how Indian courts understand the concept of indirect discrimination and explain why and how this category of discrimination has fallen through the cracks of Indian discrimination jurisprudence

While completing my undergraduate legal studies at Jindal Global Law School (India), I conducted empirical research on experiences of discrimination along multiple axes, such as gender, sexual orientation and religion. The generous support of the Oxford Indira Gandhi Graduate Scholarship enabled me to pursue my research interests in human rights and equality law during the BCL at the University of Oxford in 2018-19. After graduating, I practiced human rights law at the European Centre for Constitutional and Human Rights (Berlin), the Max Planck Foundation for International Peace and the Rule of Law (Heidelberg), and the Center for Public Interest Law (Delhi). In particular, I received the opportunity to bring claims of gender-based discrimination in The Philippines before the CEDAW Committee, contribute to capacity building of judges of the Supreme Court of South Sudan, and conduct interviews on citizenship determination with lawyers representing suspected ‘foreigners’ before Assam’s Foreigners Tribunals.

I am extremely grateful to the Oxford India Centre for Sustainable Development and the Cornelia Sorabji Scholarship for enabling me to systematically analyse the meaning of indirect discrimination under Indian constitutional law. As the first woman to have studied law and the first Indian to have studied at Oxford, Cornelia Sorabji pioneered the way for generations of Indian women, such as me, to question practices and patterns of exclusion and discrimination. I hope to use my time at Oxford under the aegis of this scholarship to unearth persisting inequalities in Indian society that have gone unaddressed by Indian courts. In doing so, I look forward to returning to my intellectual home at OIC and Somerville to contribute to the goals of equitable, inclusive, and sustainable development.

Awards and Previous Qualifications

Cornelia Sorabji Scholarship (2020-2021)

Somerville College Alumni Scholarship (2020-2021)

Bachelor of Civil Law (Distinction), Somerville College, University of Oxford (2019)

Archibald Jackson Prize for achieving a Distinction on the BCL (2019)

Bonavero Institute Student Fellowship, Bonavero Institute of Human Rights (2019)

Wilma Crowther Fund, Somerville College (2019)

Oxford Indira Gandhi Graduate Scholarship, OICSD (2018-19)

B.A., LL.B (Hons), Jindal Global Law School (India) (2018)

Overall Gold Medal for Outstanding Academic Excellence during the B.A., LL.B (Hons) (2013-18)

CALI Excellence for the Future Award for best performance in the Global Gender Justice Clinic, Cornell Law School (2017)

First Position on the Dean’s List for Outstanding Academic Excellence during the B.A., LL.B (Hons) (2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018)

Matric Year: 2020 – Subject: DPhil Biochemistry – Scholarship: Ratanshaw Bomanji Zaiwalla Scholarship

In the advanced years of my undergraduate law degree in India, I became fascinated by the idea of the modern corporation and the principles of corporate and financial law that underpinned these corporations.

I was fortunate that this exposure came at a time when these traditional principles were under challenge. A growing body of academic and industry opinion had begun considering whether a stakeholder model (contrasted with the shareholder model) would prove to be better at maximising welfare for all. Around the same time, India witnessed the issue of its first development impact bond (DIB) for purposes of financing the education of girl children in rural areas. The DIB was an innovative, results-based initiative unlike the usual cheque-book philanthropy. Naturally, my interest piqued—here was an example of the transformative potential of targeted private credit and private enterprise to serve as an instrument of social change. My passion in these areas of law and finance had taken firm root by the time I graduated in 2017 with the prizes for the top mark in company law, property law, banking and finance laws and constitutional law. I also received the University prize for the best all-round female student of the graduating class.

Upon graduation, I applied my academic interests to solve real-world problems as a corporate associate in the banking and finance team of a leading Indian law firm. I advised Indian financial institutions and offshore investors on investments in development-oriented sectors such as infrastructure, micro-finance and renewable energy. In law practice, I observed how environmental, social and governance goals were written into legal documents by impact investors to strike the balance between welfare and returns on capital. On the other hand, I also realised how it was often difficult for small-and-medium scale enterprises to fulfil these goals or secure viable funding because of economic and regulatory constraints. On a few occasions, I was glad to see innovative financing models that helped these enterprises overcome their constraints. As a lawyer, I am determined to lead innovation in development finance through a combination of law practice and policy advocacy. The Bachelor of Civil at the University of Oxford offers a unique, inter-disciplinary and academically rigorous opportunity to equip myself in pursuit of these goals. To this end, I will be studying regulation, property and trusts, conflict of laws and financial law at Oxford.

I am truly honoured to be the recipient of the Ratanshaw Bomanji Zaiwalla Scholarship and would like to extend my gratitude to Mr. Zaiwalla, Somerville College and the Oxford India Centre for Sustainable Development for this kind and generous offer of scholarship that has made it possible for me to fulfil my dream of reading law at Oxford.

Matric Year: 2020 – Subject: BCL Law – Scholarship: HSA Advocates Scholarship

I completed B.A.LL.B.(Hons.) from NALSAR University of Law. I graduated as top of my batch, with 13 gold medals for my various academic and other achievements.

I also received the Hon’ble Shri Justice Umesh Chandra Banerjee Memorial Gold Medal for the Most outstanding student with the most consistent overall excellence in academics and extra- curricular activities and Mr. Pavani Seshayya Memorial Gold Medal for the Best Student for Overall Excellence.

I am interested in research and academia. During my time at NALSAR, I have researched and published articles of various areas pertaining to International Humanitarian Law, International Criminal Law, Environmental Law, Constitutional Law, Fundamental Rights etc. I have taught students in my capacity as a teaching assistant for International Law in my final year. I also co-founded the NALSAR Lecture Series on Constitutionalism and led the NALSAR International Law Society, and organised many talks and seminars by eminent academics and practitioners.

I am keen to use my time at the BCL program to pursue my passion for International Law and engage in scholarly research. Having worked on themes such as prosecution of international crimes, use of force and humanitarian interventions, regulating the actions of non-state actors through humanitarian law, immunity of heads of states from international crimes, human rights and sustainable development etc., I was delighted to receive this opportunity to work with the community at Somerville College and the Oxford India Centre for Sustainable Development (OICSD). It is dream come true to be able to avail the resources at OICSD and work towards my interest areas of sustainable development, climate justice and third world approaches to International Law.

I am especially thankful to HSA Advocates and Mr. Hemant Sahai for giving me this opportunity to be the HSA Advocates Scholar this year and enabling my studies at Oxford.

Matric Year: 2019 – Subject: MSc Water Science, Policy and Management – Scholarship: Mary De Zouche Graduate Scholar

I am interested in the process and means through which scientific knowledge finds its way into decision making specifically with respect to water and sustainability.

This is a strong motivation for my pursuing the Water Science, Policy and Management (WSPM) master’s programme at Oxford.

My educational background comprises a prior master’s in Environmental Studies and Resource Management from TERI School of Advanced Studies (TERI-SAS) in New Delhi, India and an undergraduate in Chemistry, Environmental Science and Zoology from St. Joseph’s College (Autonomous) Bangalore, India.

I have increasingly focused on water science – first through investigating and modelling wildfire-hydrology interactions in the Garhwal Himalayas for my master’s thesis and then as a researcher with the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment (ATREE), Bangalore, where I built a simple model for a series of cascading urban lakes.

The Oxford India Centre has played a critical role in supporting me to be a scholar in the WSPM programme for which I am most grateful. OICSD enables me to maintain a connection with the Indian context, which I value greatly, since with climate change and the rapid pace of urbanization, water availability and distribution are huge challenges for India.

Matric Year: 2019 – Subject: MSc South Asian Studies – Scholarship: Indira Gandhi-Radhakrishnan Graduate Scholar

My research interest pertains to Indian anti-colonial politics and global imperial history.

I am motivated to study the transnational intellectual trajectories emerging from Imperial Japan, the revolutionary and Anarchist movements in Ireland and France in the early twentieth century and place them within the larger issue of Indian anti-colonial imaginations.

Prior to pursuing the MSc Modern South Asian Studies at Oxford, I completed my undergraduate studies in History and International Relations from Ashoka University. My interest in the subject stems from a fundamental issue in Indian history of resorting to isolationism while studying nationalism. To this end, I submitted my undergraduate thesis titled “Imagining Japan in Bengal: An Analysis of Nationalistic Ideals in Swadeshi Bengal” under the supervision of Prof. Rudrangshu Mukherjee. I argue for the need to abandon an ahistorical quest for indigenous authenticity whilst studying anti-colonialism in India and instead see it through the lens of regional patriotisms, competing versions of Indian nationalism and extraterritorial affinities of religiously informed universalisms. For this, I was awarded the Department of History Prize for the Best Thesis, 2019.

In a sense then, my research interests not just contributes to the existing scholarship, but also attempts to review the state of accepted pedagogy and research surrounding Indian history.

Matric Year: 2018 – Subject: Jurisprudence – Scholarship: HSA Advocates Law Scholar

I research on how international law can act as a catalyst for improving human rights protection and enforcement in conflict-prone zones.

As an OICSD Scholar, I completed the Bachelor of Civil Law and an MPhil in Law on how international courts like the European Court of Human rights have approached the question of protecting human rights in de facto regimes across the world, through the law on State responsibility.

It has been my dream to engage in scholarly research on improving access to justice for human rights abuse victims through international law. I am immensely grateful to Mr Hemant Sahai and Mr Sarosh Zaiwalla for supporting my research. I am also grateful to the Oxford India Centre for Sustainable Development for helping me realize this dream. As a woman, I am incredibly proud to have spent my formative years as a researcher at Somerville College and inherited its empowering legacy of women leaders.

Awards and Previous Qualifications:

BA, LLB (Hons), Gujarat National Law University (July 2018)

Bachelor of Civil Law (dist), University of Oxford (July 2019)

MPhil in Law (dist), University of Oxford (September 2020)

Matric Year: 2019 – Subject: BCl Law – Scholarship: Ratanshaw Bomanji Zaiwalla Law Scholar

I graduated from the West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences (WBNUJS). I am expecting to receive various gold medals for my academic performance, including subjects relating to commercial/corporate law and constitutional law (my area of interest). I finished my university education and the advanced years of my school education on a scholarships.

Hailing from a community traditionally comprising of businessmen and traders, as a commerce student at school and law student at university, I realised that I am most passionate about reading about businesses and their behaviour. Understanding and analysing the most ideal manner in which businesses could be regulated by commercial corporate law, especially in the Indian context, and advising such entities on commercial/ corporate law matters fascinate me. Therefore, I have written nine articles for IndiaCorpLaw, probably the only Indian blog to find a place on the Harvard Law School Corporate Governance blog’s blogroll, and various journal articles on corporate/commercial law issues. I have briefly worked at Khaitan & Co as a corporate law practitioner.

During the BCL programme, I wish to study subjects such as Comparative Corporate Law, Corporate Insolvency and Commercial Remedies. I am equally interested in opting for the course, Constitutional Theory, because constitution forms the grundnorm for all other laws, including commercial/corporate law, and I have strong interest in understanding politics of different countries through the lens of their constitution.

Lastly, I would like to thank Mr Sarosh Zaiwalla and OICSD for instituting the Ratanshaw Bomanji Zaiwalla Scholarship. Not only has the scholarship allowed me, someone hailing from family with limited means, to study at the University of Oxford but also has it given me the much-coveted opportunity to interact and collaborate with other scholars of the OICSD—both events being dream come true moments for me.

Matric Year: 2019 – Subject: BCl Law – Scholarship: Cornelia Sorabji Scholar

Devaang is an alumnus of Symbiosis International University, Pune, and graduated top of his batch in the B.B.A. LL.B. programme in the year 2014.

During his university education, he also won the prestigious Ontario-Maharashtra Government Scholarship in 2012 to Osgoode Hall Law School, York University, Canada after a rigorous selection procedure, where he expertized his majors in IPR laws and its international pursuit. Also, recipient of S. K. Jain Scholarship for best all-round performance in his pen-ultimate year in Symbiosis Law School. Further, he completed a management degree in Family Managed Business from S.P Jain Institute of Management & Research, Mumbai in 2015.

Being educationally inclined, he has a passion for his subject and has about 8 years of legal teaching experience. He founded Legal Aid and Social Development Educational Society, an NGO working in the State of Uttar Pradesh, India, which assists economically and socially backward students to crack Law entrance examinations in India. Prior to joining BCL at the Faculty of Law, University of Oxford, he has practiced law at the High Court of Judicature, Allahabad in both, civil and criminal fields for 5 years.

Devaang has also written three books, ‘Aiming CLAT: An Introduction to Legal Reasoning’, to facilitate those pursuing the competitive exam, ‘The Constitution of India: An In-depth Analysis’ and ‘Procedural Laws in India: C.P.C. & Cr.P.C.’ catering to university students; the proceeds of these publications are re-invested in his founded NGO as donations. He wishes to pursue Ph.D. or D.Phil. in law in the near future.

Matric Year: 2018 – Subject: MSc in Modern South Asian Studies – Scholarship: Oxford-Indira Gandhi-Radhakrishnan Scholar

I am currently studying for the M.Sc. in Modern South Asian Studies offered jointly by Oriental Studies and the Oxford School of Global and Area Studies. I completed my Bachelors in Arts from University of Delhi, India and my Masters in Arts from Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.

I am lucky, as the first person in my family to join a higher education institution. Although this means working slightly harder than some of my other colleagues, it has given me unique insights about academics and the academic world. Apart from convincing my family of the need for higher education, I also tried sharing this opportunity with others around me. I began to teach not only my younger cousins, but also children in my neighbourhood. It soon after that I decided that I would use my skills as a teacher on a larger scale. Since the lack of education (and access to it) is a structural problem I decided to join an organisation in order to work towards a larger solution. The Udyam Trust offered me a suitable platform to pursue this.

These experiences have equipped me to better understand my social context and in turn, have made me be a better student and a better historian. Hence, I strive to make my academic projects a reflection this understanding. Through working on Indian borderlands’ societies, I plan on to write a ‘history from below’ of a topic that has not been adequately explored by historians. This work on Borderlands of the Indian subcontinent adds to understandings of state, nationalism, and territorialism. I also wish to explore the nature of the developing India in relation to its marginalised borders.

Apart from my academic work, I like to spend my time baking. I have a keen interest in pottery as well.

I am grateful to the Oxford India Centre for Sustainable Development for the generous scholarship that will help me realise my aspirations.

Matric Year: 2018 – Subject: Jurisprudence – Scholarship: HSA Advocates Law Scholar

I graduated from Jindal Global Law School in 2018 with a Bronze Medal and an award for ‘Outstanding Contribution to Mooting.’ On the BCL, I am interested in reading courses in legal theory and commercial law.

As a finalist at international moot court competitions, I had the unparalleled opportunity to present my research before leading practitioners and academics. This experience gave me a very early exposure to the transformative potential of research and learning. I am grateful to the generosity of Mr. Hemant Sahai and the OIC that has made it possible for me to pursue this through the BCL at Somerville College. Somerville’s rich heritage and history of producing world leaders such as Cornelia Sorabji and Indira Gandhi amongst others is not only thrilling but instills a sense of responsibility and aspiration to play a part in this legacy.

With an active constitutional court and rapidly growing economy, legal reform is on the rise in India. Often, newly declared rights or legislative schemes are materialized through constitutional or corporate entities. Studying design questions of these meta-structures, I believe, can hold answers to our discontents about rights jurisprudence. The OIC brings together interdisciplinary interests and acts as a strong pillar of support in this quest.

When I am not thinking about the law, I like to spend my time painting, exploring museums and reading art history. I am passionate about the elderly and issues of isolation and have volunteered my time for that cause.

Matric Year: 2018 – Subject: Jurisprudence – Scholarship: Cornelia Sorabji Scholar

I graduated as a gold medalist from Symbiosis Law School, Pune in 2018. I have chosen pursue my post graduation in the field of Public Law more specifically, Comparative and Global Environmental Law and Human Rights Law. My endeavour is to pursue advocacy in these fields, upon returning to India.

Law is an impactful catalyst in bringing about transition in society. This, in my opinion, is because it has the ability to shape thoughts and implement them simultaneously. What has captivated me most about the legal profession is that it embodies various aspects of human endeavours such as social activism and politics. It thus has the ability to influence not just actions, but mindsets.

India has had a rich legacy of incredible women who are flag bearers of courage, strength and intelligence. They have all played a key role in bringing about massive changes in their own spheres, that has left an indelible impact on the country. Cornelia Sorabji being the first female advocate of India and the first Indian woman to study at Oxford resonates the sentiment of breaking societal barriers and braving odds to bring about social revolution. While it is truly an honour to study at a College that has seen the likes of visionaries such as Cornelia Sorabji, Margaret Thatcher and Indira Gandhi, I more importantly feel responsible to uphold their vision and legacy.

Upon completion of my course, my goal is to pursue a career as a legal practitioner in the field of Human Rights and Environmental Laws, with specific focus on dispute resolution in these fields. The main reason I am drawn to these subjects is due their increasing relevance to the current scenario and the unexploited scope for development and research, particularly in India. In the future I also hope to pursue my interests in the field of academia and policy making.

The Oxford India Centre at Somerville College gives me a chance to be part of an intellectually rich community that strives towards path breaking inter disciplinary research, which will help me contribute to my country as well as the world, in a meaningful way.

Matric Year: 2017 – Subject: MSc Biodiversity and Conservation – Scholarship: Indira Gandhi Scholar

Gabriella D’Cruz is a marine conservationist with a Masters in Biodiversity Conservation and Management from the School of Geography and the Environment.

Since graduating she has started a social enterprise called SeaStrong which works with women seaweed farmers in Tamil Nadu to create nutritious seaweed seasonings from locally harvested seaweed. The project’s aims to improve the income of the women seaweed harvesters as well as encourage the growth of native seaweed species, benefitting both the local marine environment and the community reliant on it. SeaStrong was selected by Somerville College to participate at the All Innovate Competition at the Oxford Foundry in Hilary term and made it through to the final round along with Somerville team members Isadora Oliveira, Malak Alshaikhali and Julius Bright Ross. To develop the social enterprise further Gabriella has been working with a Scottish food company, Mara Seaweed and has now returned to India where she will continue working on the project.

Academic Profile

Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science, Fergusson College, University of Pune.2011 -2014.

Post Graduate Diploma in Environmental Law, National Law School of India University, Bangalore. 2014-2015.

Master of Science in Biodiversity Conservation and Management, School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford. 2017-18.

Worked with the WWF -India Goa State Office, on their project ‘Promoting Sustainable Marine Tourism in Goa’ which was funded by the IUCN Mangroves for the Future, Small Grants Program. 2015 -2016. Co- author of the Project Report.

Citation: Sanjeev, S., Jamalabad, A., Mitra, P., D’Cruz, G., Rao, M.,Sutaria, D. 2016. Promoting Sustainable Marine Tourism in Goa. World Wide Fund for Nature, New Delhi.

Matric Year: 2017 – Subject: BCL Law – Scholarship: Ratanshaw Bomanji Zaiwalla Scholar

Shreya graduated from the National Law School of India University, Bangalore, in 2016, and completed the BCL at Oxford with a focus on the law and philosophy of corporate and financial laws.

Since graduating, Shreya has been working with the Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy. She conducts research on, and advises Governments on corporate and financial law reform projects. Currently, Shreya is advising the Government of India on second-generation insolvency law reforms.

‘In the past decade, there has been increasing realisation that economic progress must be inclusive and equitable. Developing countries like India are focussing on attaining financial inclusion and increasing corporate social responsibility while ensuring higher investment and growth. I believe that well-designed laws play an important role in achieving these goals, and thus, wish to work on law and policy in the corporate and finance area.

The OIC and Zaiwalla scholarship have given me the incredible opportunity to read for the BCL while at Somerville College. It is inspiring to be part of the institution where some of the most pathbreaking women of the twentieth and twenty-first century studied. I hope that this experience will help me develop my skills and broaden my perspective so that I can contribute to corporate & financial law and policy reform in a meaningful way.’

Academic Publications

Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code: The Journey so Far and the Road Ahead, Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy & EY (editor)

Regulation of Credit Rating Agencies in India, Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy (2017) (co-author)

Injunctive Relief for Standards Essential Patents Holder- A comparative analysis, Vol. 11, NALSAR Student Law Review (2017)

Interpretation of section 6 of the Indian Evidence Act, (2017) 1 Supreme Court Cases – Journal Section 21 “Corruption and Freedom of Information Laws in India” in The Potential of Freedom of Information Laws in the Global Fight Against Corruption, Harvard Law and International Development Society(2014)(Co-author).

Matric Year: 2016 – Subject: BCL Law – Scholarship: Cornelia Sorabji Scholar

Divya graduated from the National Law Institute University, Bhopal, in 2012 placing first in a cohort of 85 students. Before Somerville, Divya was practising corporate law in India for four years and after completing the BCL, Divya intends to return to India to resume practising as a transactional lawyer.

“Cornelia Sorabji is a celebrated figure in India. She is a source of inspiration for many young lawyers, including me. Many of my Indian friends and seniors from college have studied in Oxford and a majority of them are from Somerville. I had heard wonderful stories about the College from them and was very excited when I got an offer to study here. I want to go into academia and am hoping that this course will gear me with the requisite knowledge and skills that I need to become a good academic.

“I have wanted to pursue a career in Law from a very young age. I hail from a family full of lawyers and judges and was especially inspired by my grandfathers – one was a lawyer and the other was a High judge in India. As I grew up, I became more determined to follow their legacy.”

Matric Year: 2016 – Subject: MSc Environmental Change and Management – Scholarship: Mary De Zouche Scholar

Tanvi has an undergraduate degree in Environmental Science, Chemistry and Botany, which she completed as a scholar of the Government of India’s Kishore Vaigyanik Protsahan Yojana fellowship programme.

At Oxford, she studied for an MSc in Environmental Change and Management, delving into her interests in environment, development and food systems.

Apart from coursework, she was involved in local initiatives like Abundance Oxford and the OxGrow community garden, and was part of the organising team of the Oxford Food Forum 2017. For her masters dissertation, she worked in a Gond indigenous community in central India, trying to understand farmers’ cropping decisions in relation to climate resilience, nutrition and income motivations, and analysing their implications for crop diversity conservation.

After finishing her masters degree, Tanvi worked at the Climate Change and Disaster Risk Reduction programmes unit of the United Nations World Food Programme. She currently works at the Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and the Environment. As a part of the Water, Land and Society programme, she is researching climate vulnerability and coping strategies among farmers in semi-arid southern India, and is also involved in conducting training programs on Integrated Water Resource Management for engineers in Karnataka state’s Water Resources department. She is also a steering committee member of the Indian Youth Water Network, a community for early-career researchers and practitioners in the water sector in India, where she facilitates collaborative research and writing activities.

Matric Year: 2014 – Subject: MSc Environmental Change and Management – Scholarship: Indira Gandhi Scholar

Matric Year: 2013 – Subject: MSc Biodiversity and Conservation – Scholarship: Indira Gandhi Scholar

After Somerville, Sumanas moved onto a PhD at the Institute of Development Studies at Sussex.

After 2 year working on rural development where he grew up, he’s now returned to academia to analyse the programmes he initiated. His thesis is titled ‘Development as Swaraj (self-rule): Human prosperity in terms of peace.’

The environmental crisis and social inequalities are two increasingly important meta-factors affecting the future development of humanity. It is apparent that the dominant moral political economies (MPEs) like capitalism, communism and socialism are failing to tackle these problems. Consequently there is a need to explore alternatives that have potential to minimize the environmental crisis as well as social inequality for long lasting peace.

On one hand, the study aims to construct a new MPE called Swaraj inspired by the writings of Mahatma Gandhi and his associate economist J C Kumarappa. On the other hand, it explores the khadi sector (hand spun and hand woven cotton textile) in the state of Karnataka, South India to understand the pragmatic ways in which Swaraj could be established.

Sumanas remains strongly committed to small scale development, combining practical experience with theoretical knowledge.

Matric Year: 2013 – Subject: MPhil Water Policy – Scholarship: Indira Gandhi Scholar

After studying at Oxford, and building on his past professional experience with UNDP, Veolia, and UNICEF, Shriman works as a Technical Expert with GIZ, the German Development Agency, an equivalent of DfID.

Shriman is leading policy reforms in land use planning and management in India. He is developing a comprehensive and integrated land use planning system to cope with the dynamics of development and to ensure optimal utilization of land resources. He achieves this by a) developing policies for optimal utilisation of land resources, b) improving and strengthening of planning, management, monitoring and evaluation systems, c) strengthening institutions, coordination and implementation mechanisms; and d) creating mechanisms to facilitate empowering communities and women in planning and decision-making. This prestigious organisation allows him to put into practise many of the theories he learnt while at Somerville.