Meet the Motivational Author & Speaker, Mr. Barendra Kumar

It's my pleasure interacting with OrissaDiary. I have been a regular visitor and I subscribe your newsletter.

You have had the experience of getting in to different socio-academic environments from KBK to Oxford. Would you like to share your experience with us?

Sure! My schooling was from Navodaya Vidyalaya in Kalahandi. Then I had my undergraduate studies from Bhawanipatna and M. Sc in Life Sciences from Sambalpur. Then I did my M.Phil in Environmental Science, JNU and now pursuing D.Phil in Environmental Sciences from Oxford.

You have been a team leader from your school days. Does 'leading' come to you naturally?

I was a part of the NCC's senior division and represented all of Orissa at an all India basic leadership camp. I have also devoted two years to working with Youth for Social Reconstruction, an NGO actively involved in my region. Instead of sitting idle, I am quite action oriented. When there is a cause I will lead from the front. So I think leading comes to me naturally.

Why did want to study in JNU? Is this because JNU is quite well known and a prestigious university in the country. How were the initial days in JNU? Did you face any challenge in this cosmopolitan university?

True, JNU is famous even in Europe. I came here to pursue M.Phil. Because of my goals, environmental science was the programme I chose. Coming to Delhi was probably one of my greatest challenges. I was not that fluent in Hindi and though was comfortable in English but only in basics, adjusting to the metro was difficult. But my determination far exceeded the challenges and difficulties. People in JNU are very sweet and helpful and this eased my problems to a greater extent.

Did you have information and idea on higher studies abroad before coming to JNU? Did you apply to any university before you got this Commonwealth Scholarship?

No I had no clear idea about this. I joined JNU in 2002 in the MPhil/PhD programme at School of Environmental Sciences. During that time only I became aware of and interested in academic opportunities aboard, primarily through an advertisement of the Nehru Trust for Cambridge University in The Hindu in 2003. I considered worth applying, got short listed and ultimately couldn't make it to the final. This entire exercise of application and proposal preparation was a learning experience for me. After I couldn't make it to the Nehru Cambridge Trust, I thought of trying at Cambridge at my own and fortunately got an offer for M.Phil in Environment and Development in 2004. I couldn't secure a scholarship as I was late in applying. In 2004 I was selected under the Indo-Finnish Cultural Programme for five months study at the University of Helsinki. After this I applied again to Cambridge, this time for a D.Phil and succeeded in securing an offer but without a scholarship. Based on this offer, I applied for the Commonwealth Scholarship and got short listed. Unfortunately, Cambridge didn't agree for a deferral of its D.Phil offer to 2006.

Going for higher studies and that to receiving a Commonwealth Scholarship is quite a challenging and competitive task. I would like you to share your experience with our readers. Tell us something about your journey from JNU to OXFORD .

An emotional and academic rollercoaster has been an integral part, albeit a guiding spirit, for my 'mission', rather than a journey, from JNU to Oxford. I applied to Oxford at the very last moment, February 2006, and secured the offer by May 2006. The selection process at Commonwealth Commission-UK is pretty tough and lengthy, and I did not hear anything till late June 2006. As things were getting uncertain, I left for University of Geneva under the Foreign Commission Scholarship of Switzerland for a one year advanced research on environmental governance. I joined on 10th July and receive the final confirmation from Commonwealth Commission UK on 21 st July. I joined Oxford in September 2006. Many ups and downs, but I am happy to be here.