City-based dentist gets Rs 1cr scholarship

Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, August 22

A professor in dentistry from the city has got scholarship of over Rs 1 crore for his PhD research project in the UK.

Dr Satpal Singh Sandhu, who is an MDS and currently working as professor and head of department (orthodontics and dentofacial orthopedics) in the Genesis Institute of Dental Sciences and Research, Ferozepur, Punjab, has been selected as a sponsored PhD student by the University of Bristol in United Kingdom.

His entire PhD program (Advanced Quantitative Methods in Social Science and Health) will be funded by the UK Research Council through its Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) scholarship award commencing next month. The scholarship covers university fee, free accommodation, travel expenses to attend international conferences and also enhanced stipend to bear his living and other routine expenses. The total annual amount to be paid by the funding body would be over Rs 1 crore. Further, he is also entitled for top up funding during the course of his PhD research.

When asked to share his experience of admission process and subsequent selection particularly in the light of current negative influence of ‘Brexit’ which makes it difficult for foreign students to get such a prestigious scholarship, he said, “Though the process was gruelling wherein I had to prove worth of my research project through various interviews conducted by UK Research Council based academicians as well as his supervisors, I am happy that I was able to successfully pull it through.”

On asking why he specifically chose University of Bristol for his doctoral studies, he replied that the university’s research theme programme ‘Centre for Multi-level Modelling’ where his PhD would be housed, is world renowned research centre specifically dealing with the development of advanced research methodology to handle complex data and research designs, as is required for this current project. Divulging details about his research project, Dr Sandhu explained that this project would include detailed analysis of longitudinal craniofacial growth data collected across the United States of America and Canada during the 20th centuries in order to enhance the understanding of craniofacial growth process.

When asked about his formal education, Dr Sandhu said he belongs to a farming family and hails from a small village, Shalla Pur Bet, in Kapurthala. He completed his primary education from the government primary school in his village. Later on, he joined DAV College, Jalandhar, for his pre-medical education. Thereafter, he went to Manipal, Karnataka, and completed his graduation (BDS) and post-graduation (MDS). After completing his education, he came back to Punjab and settled in Jalandhar.