Announces two online MBA Scholarships from a world ranked business school in London

New Delhi: BBC Worldwide, the commercial consumer arm of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), is offering two online MBA scholarships from a world-ranked business school in London to mark the launch of BBC Learning in India. The scholarship students will begin their study in late 2004 through UK eUniversities Worldwide (UKeU), the UK government-backed company set up to provide online degrees from UK universities.

To apply for the scholarships, 100 students from India will be chosen at random and asked to submit an essay of 1000 words on the benefits of gaining an MBA qualification and the impact of business education in Indian industry and commerce. In addition, the students must meet the qualification criteria for the course and successfully apply to the programme directly.

All course fees for the MBA scholarships will be paid for by BBC Worldwide. Applications will only be accepted from Indian nationals resident in India for the preceding twelve months.

"This is part of our commitment to bringing the best in e-learning from the UK to India," said Mark Young, BBC Worldwide''s managing director of Europe, Middle East, India and Africa (EMEIA). "By offering students in India the opportunity to study with a leading UK institution, we encourage learners to look to e-learning as a convenient method of gaining a world renowned degree."

John Beaumont, CEO of UKeU added, "UKeU and BBC Worldwide share the objective of bringing high quality online education to learners worldwide. Through UKeU''s purpose-built online Learning Environment, the eMBA scholarship students will obtain a globally recognised qualification from a world-ranked London-based business school without leaving home, giving up their jobs or having to bear the cost and difficulty of moving to the UK."

bbclearning.com is BBC Worldwide''s international gateway to learning, offering over 250 distance learning and e-learning courses. It gives people around the world the opportunity to study with universities in the UK and US from the comfort of their own home.

In addition to degree level courses such as MBAs and MScs, bbclearning.com also offers a wide selection of GCSE and A-Level courses from the National Extension College in Britain. This gives students the ability to meet entry requirements to leading UK universities.

In June 2003, UKeU and BBC Worldwide signed a major agreement to promote the best of online learning from British Universities throughout India and the rest of the world. Other organisations associated with BBC Learning include UCLA, UMass, eCornell, Open University and the NEC.

UK eUniversities Worldwide (UKeU) was established, with UK Government backing, to provide online degree courses from UK universities to students and businesses worldwide. UKeU also has a mandate to help widen access to higher education in the UK. It launched the first course within its purpose-built online Learning Environment in March 2003 and now has students from 38 countries enrolled on 17 courses from 16 UK universities. UKeU''s course portfolio is focused on seven main subject areas, including Business and Management, Environmental Studies and Science and Technology. UKeU won the Thought Leadership Award at the annual International Visual Communication Association Biz-Nets 2003 for its unique approach in widening access to UK higher education to students worldwide.