To create a global fellowship by nurturing a pool of talented

young individuals and prepare them to think critically,

communicate effectively and become leaders with a
commitment to public service.
The Young India Fellowship (YIF), is a one-year multidisciplinary postgraduate programme in Liberal Studies
and Leadership at Ashoka University. The Fellowship brings together a group of bright young individuals who
show exceptional intellectual ability and leadership potential from across the country. The aim is to develop
impactful young leaders through a programme guided by eminent leaders and scholars of our times.

Ashoka University is a private, non-profit university. An unprecedented example of collective public

philanthropy in India, it is a pioneer in its focus on multidisciplinary liberal education, which is usually
defined as one that transcends the boundaries between the arts and sciences, and carries a strong emphasis
on learning across subjects. Ashoka’s unique
postgraduate programme, Young India
Fellowship (YIF), now in its eighth year, has
rapidly become one of the most sought-after
programmes in India.

Ashoka University is located on a 25-acre

campus in the Rajiv Gandhi Education City,
Sonepat , Haryana.

Ashoka University has partnerships with world-class institutions such as the University of Pennsylvania,
University of Michigan, Carleton College, King’s College London, Sciences Po, Trinity College Dublin, UC
Berkeley, Wellesley College and Yale University .

Every year, our Fellows are offered courses by faculty members from our partner institutions, and are also
given the opportunity to visit these institutions for a term or semester through some exchange programmes.
Critical Writing

Critical Writing helps Fellows

express their ideas through well
reasoned, lucid, and engaging
writing.
Young India Fellows are a group of promising young individuals, selected through a rigorous and nation-
wide search for passionate achievers with a desire to bring about change. The Fellowship Aims to develop
the world’s academic, social and business leaders of tomorrow through a multidisciplinary liberal education.
The number of applicants to the Fellowship has been increasing consistently every year. To meet this
increasing demand, the number of seats has been increased to 300 for the year 2019-20. The Alumni are
now more than 1100 strong. The Fellows reflect the geographical diversity and a rich mix of backgrounds,
from India and around the world. From engineering to fashion design, film to agriculture, medicine to art,
and law to journalism, this cross flow of ideas and learning from others is as invaluable as the more formal
education they have received thus far.
“The class structure based on interactive and joint learning has
been an amazing experience. It taught me to take inspiration and
learn from my peers instead of mindlessly competing with them.
More than any resource or infrastructure, my time at Ashoka was
marked by the brilliant people who encouraged me, both professors
and students alike.”
-Nayani Kushal Goyal, Fellow 2018

“The Fellowship has gifted me with a

new lens to view the world, the ability
to empathise and relate, the freshness
to do things differently, and confidence
to take on bigger challenges in life.”
-Sanuj Shah, Fellow 2018
Problem Solving and Statistical Thinking

Advanced Group Dynamics

 Why Is Globalization on Trial
Kabir: The Poet of Vernacular Modernity
Indian Ecosophy
Evolution, Economics and Reasons
Making Sense of Indian Elections
The Arts of Communication
Purushottam Agrawal, a renowned Kabir and Bhakti
scholar
Aseem Shrivastava, an environmental economist,
activist and a freelance writer
William Scott Green, Professor, Senior Vice-Provost
and Dean of Undergraduate Education, University of
Miami
Gilles Verniers, Assistant Professor of Political Science,
Ashoka University and Co-Director of the Trivedi Centre
for Political Data
Mihir Mankad, Professor of Practice in Leadership
Communication, the Fletcher School, Tufts University
The Experiential Learning Module (ELM) is a core component of the YIF curriculum where Fellows work on
real-life projects from diverse sectors in collaboration with partner organizations, institutions and individuals.
The vision is to create socially aware problem-solvers who are equipped to step out of their comfort zones and
work collaboratively to add value in diverse domains within a dynamic time-frame.

PARI - People's Archive of Rural India Ultimate Players Association of India (UPAI)
UNFPA CMGGA
Kahaani Wale Govt of NCT of Delhi & Accountability Initiative
Rajiv Gandhi Mahila Vikas Pariyojana Indian Institute of Management Bangalore
PwC India Deptt. of Women and Child Development, Govt of Delhi
Lumis Consulting Partners STIR Education
Tata Steel Adventure Foundation

Critical Writing
Critical Writing, an integral part of the YIF, helps Fellows engage with the world of ideas and enables them
to develop and express their own ideas through lucid, engaging, ethical, and well-reasoned writing. These
skills act as building blocks for the multi-disciplinary liberal arts education that they receive in the YIF, and
help them navigate the academic, social, and professional worlds around them.

In this course, students learn how to:

• Compose texts in a variety of genres
• Analyse and critique texts across media
• Build thoughtful arguments supported by reasons and evidence
• Find, evaluate and synthesize sources to make persuasive arguments
• Develop preliminary research skills
• Work through drafts and revise their writing using feedback
Centres at Ashoka
Centre for Social and Behavior Change
The Centre for Social and Behaviour Change (CSBC) is set up by a grant from the Bill & Melinda
Gates Foundation. The vision of the Centre is to establish an institution in India that is globally
reputed for thought leadership and excellence in impactful behaviour change interventions for low-
income and marginalized populations.

Centre for Entrepreneurship

The Centre for Entrepreneuship (CfE) focuses on developing skills outside the classroom in
entrepreneurship and leadership, in order to prepare Fellows for the professional world. The Centre arranges
a wide array of workshops, guest sessions, and mentoring activities for students and also acts as the primary
gateway for industry tie-ups and collaborations in order to assist students with summer internships or jobs
after graduation.

Ashoka Centre for Well-Being

The Ashoka Centre for Well-Being is a one-of-a-kind on-campus counselling centre at Ashoka University
which is dedicated to the care and well-being of mental health of the Ashoka community. It comprises
trained psychoanalytic psychotherapists and a mental health counsellor who offer a range of services, from
individual counselling sessions to group workshops.

Centre for Social Impact and Philanthropy

The Centre for Social Impact and Philanthropy (CSIP) perceives two major needs for social impact in India
today. One is to influence the capital to be more strategic and informed; the second is to ensure that the
capital can be effectively absorbed. To do this, the Centre aims to leverage Ashoka University’s rich student
body and academics to foster strategic philanthropic action and help build capacity for social institutions.

Centre for Studies in Gender and Sexuality

The Centre for Studies in Gender and Sexuality (CSGS) is the first in the country to conduct research on both
gender and sexuality. It conducts research on these subjects in local and global contexts, and works out ways
in which this research can impact activist interventions in daily life. The CSGS also hopes to become a one-
stop archival space for all academics, activists, and media persons working on issues of gender and sexuality.

Centre for Writing and Communication

The Liberal Arts education offered at Ashoka University inculcates critical thinking skills and recognises that
these are inextricably linked to the practice and art of effective academic writing. The CWC works with
students through one-on-one tutorials, group sessions, or larger workshops that are designed in consultation
with faculty and tailored to specific disciplinary, assignment, and student needs.

Genpact Centre for Women’s Leadership

The Genpact Centre for Women’s Leadership (GCWL) is a first-of-its-kind industry academia partnership
between Genpact and Ashoka. GCWL combines the power of academic research with best practices from
industry, to empower women through research and advocacy, training programmes and supportive
infrastructure to become leaders who drive gender inclusive growth.

Trivedi Centre for Political Data

The Ashoka Trivedi Centre for Political Data aims at promoting data-driven research, policy work and
journalism by providing open access to scientifically collected and treated political data and offers data
services to non-profit organisations.
Chairperson, Infosys
Samarth Mahajan, Fellow 2018 Having graduated from IIT Kharagpur, Samarth is a
self-taught filmmaker passionate about telling stories from India that remain invisible
to the mainstream. He has received critical and mass acclaim for his documentaries,
including the national award-winning "The Unreserved". Post YIF, he started his
passion project "The Borderlands", a documentary about unheard human stories from
all of India's borders. On an unending journey of self-exploration, he constantly dreams
of a world without inequalities and borders.
YIF is open to all young individuals with:
• A recognised undergraduate or postgraduate degree in any discipline
st
• No more than 28 years of age as of May 31 , 2019

2019-2020
Applications for the Class of 2020 opens on 21st August 2018 and close on 30th March 2019. YIF
follows a rolling admissions process and is split into threerounds. YIF accepts applications within a
specified date-window and selects Fellows from the pool of applications from that round. Please refer to
the calendar below for important dates for the two rounds.

Round 1 Round 2
Applications open: 21st August, 2018 Applications open: 16th November, 2018
Last date to submit application: 15th November, 2018 Last date to submit application: 15th January, 2019
Interviews: 1st October, 2018 – 20th January, 2019 Interviews: 26th November, 2018 – 20th March, 2019

Round 3
Applications open: 16th January, 2019 Programme begins for Class of 2019-20:
Last date to submit application: 30th March, 2019 15th July, 2019
Interviews: 26th January, 2019 – 20th May, 2019

Enquiries:
Campus
Ashocka University Plot #2, Rajiv Gandhi Education City Kundli Haryana - 131029
Landline: +91 0130-2300000 Phone: +91 81999 77076 | +91 9958293745
Email: yifadmissions@ashoka.edu.in Website : www.ashoka.edu.in/yif
City Office
Ashocka University No. 2, Green Avenue Street Green Avenue, Pocket D-3, Vasant Kunj,
New Delhi - 110070
Ashoka University has been conceived and developed by a team of like-minded and successful
philanthropists with strong academic and professional track records.