Bridging the Divide: Verizon India and IIT Madras Launch VPROPEL

Equal opportunity is something that is always talked about and preached. It is easier to find books and essays written about it than seeing it being put to practice. It is disheartening to read and hear about stories where young, bright minds have never had a chance to shine. Financial constraints and weak economic backgrounds kill more souls than any other factors combined.

Even NR Narayan Murthy, co-founder of Infosys, had to initially forgo his dream of joining IIT. He later went on to receive his Master’s degree from IIT Kanpur. Not all stories take after Murthy’s. Some dreams are just left as dreams – fizzling out in the cold.

For Verizon India however, every dream matters and they have taken a stand. Verizon India has partnered with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Madras, to launch a merit-cum-scholarship programme called V PROPEL (V Provide Right Opportunity to Power Enabled Learning).

V PROPEL will benefit exemplary students who come from financially disadvantaged backgrounds. It will allow those students whose family income is less than Rs 1 lakh annually to pursue BSc in programming and data science. The scholarship will ensure the selected students’ financial assistance for 4 academic terms.

It was launched initially in 2020 as a BSc course in Programming and Data Science. It was envisioned to take on the challenge of eliminating physical and financial barriers to gift every aspirant the opportunity to chase their dreams.

Verizon India is the first corporate to join IIT Madras in this noble endeavour. It is not just the students from economically weak backgrounds that will reap the benefits of this scholarship. As a cherry on top, V PROPEL will give preference to meritorious female students and the ones with disabilities.

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V PROPEL is also a virtual learning programme and will be offered in 3 stages – Foundation Level, Diploma Level and Degree Level.

Emphasizing the significance of the programme, Vijayaraman Subramanian, MD Verizon India, said, “We are thrilled to be associated with IIT Madras for our third project and are very happy to be able to make a difference in the lives of these young aspirants coming from the underserved communities through V PROPEL. Building on our purpose and commitment to the communities around us, it is our endeavour to move the world forward for everyone by expanding digital access and preparing people for the jobs of the future.”

V PROPEL is a great initiative that will nurture and promote equal learning opportunities to all without any prejudice. Verizon Indian and IIT Madras have really out-done themselves this time around.