Lucknow’s Taruka among finalists for UK Alumni Awards
LUCKNOW : Lucknow girl Taruka Srivastav is among the finalists in the professional achievement award category of UK Alumni Awards by the British Council India (BCI). She shares the honour with three others, as per the council’s portal.
An alumna of La Martiniere Girls’ College, Taruka has a Master’s degree in sports journalism from Sheffield Hallam University, Sheffield, UK and was a team member of U17 FIFA WC in India. She writes on marketing and branding for ‘The Drum’.
The other three finalists are: Gopalkrishna Lakkireddy, a research scientist who has helped in accelerating biosimilar development, Saumya Saxena who assisted the Law Commission in India in the field on possible amendments to personal law codes and assessing the feasibility of a uniform civil code. Saumya’s work with Justice Verma Committee that was set up to revise rape laws in India has had an impact on every woman in the country.
The third finalist is Anushree Srivastava, an astro-biologist, who has represented India and the UK at the Mars 160 Twin Desert-Arctic Analogue Mission.
A former Asian Games soft tennis player, Taruka Srivastav thanked the British Council India and congratulated the other nominees as well. “Wow. So proud,” she tweeted. A jubilant Taruka added, “I was bestowed the ‘Sheffield Hallam International’ prize and ‘Inspirational Female Student of the year’ by the university.”
This Lucknow girl also had an experience of working with the Manchester United Football Club’s digital team. “I interviewed many Manchester United players and one can find interviews on the Manchester United’s official website,” she said. She also made the preview video for Special Olympics GB National Games.
She said, “I am really happy to have been given this opportunity. I had to choose a topic for my dissertation and came up with this idea of making a short preview film.”
The BCI is celebrating the achievements of UK alumni in India. When outstanding individuals receive world-class education in the UK, the effects can last a lifetime. The Alumni Awards pay tribute to the impact that alumni of UK higher education institutions have had in their chosen field, British Council India portal reads.
There are three award categories: Professional achievement, entrepreneurial and social Impact. The professional achievement award in which Lucknow’s Taruka figured recognises alumni whose work has created change in their chosen profession. The other two categories are: The entrepreneurial award recognises alumni who have developed innovative solutions to problems within their industry and the social impact award recognises alumni whose work has positively changed their society or community.