Up to nine top Indian undergraduate students will be awarded new admission scholarships to Queen’s University, starting in Fall 2011. Principal Daniel Woolf announced the awards at the beginning of a seven-day mission to India by 15 Canadian university presidents.

Included are five Principal’s International Scholarships valued at $20,000 each, and up to four International Entrance Scholarships valued at $9,000 each. Additional merit-based awards previously available only to Canadian students will now be open to all eligible international students.

“These scholarships will help recruit top Indian undergraduate students to Queen’s,” said Dr. Woolf at a roundtable of Canadian and Indian university presidents, attended by Science and Technology Minister Gary Goodyear and India’s Minister of Human Resource Development Kapil Sibal.

“India is a country that has much to offer us, as Queen’s strives to increase its international enrolment and raise its global profile,” the Principal added. “We welcome the diverse experiences and perspectives that international students bring to our Canadian campuses.”

The largest such delegation ever to travel abroad, the India mission is organized by the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC). The goal is to raise the profile of Canada as a destination for education, research and business partnerships with India, which has become an emerging economic powerhouse.

The Canadian delegation is participating in a series of targeted meetings with Indian educators, government officials and business leaders. On Friday Principal Woolf will be a featured speaker at a higher education summit in Delhi, organized by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry. His topic is The Higher Education Landscape in Canada.