How is Clarendon different from Rhodes?
The Clarendon is a fairly young scholarship program launched in 2001 as compared to the Rhodes which was instituted in 1904 and therefore it does not yet have the backing of a league of prestigious scholars of the past. However, it is a major graduate scholarship scheme linked directly to the University of Oxford through its sponsor Oxford University Press, and through its selection panel. The fundamental difference between the Clarendon and the Rhodes, and for that matter the Clarendon and any other scholarship awarding body, lies in the fact that the goal of the Clarendon scholarship is to elect as scholars, the best students worldwide, as decided by experts in each student's field. This is in comparison to other scholarship panels which consist of a mix of professionals, each no doubt an authority in his/her field but not necessarily adept in the applicant's field of work. Often it does so happen that not a single person on the committee is able to understand or appreciate the applicant's research proposal which more often than not forms the core of the candidate's application to Oxford. This gives rise to a considerable amount of selection bias. Clarendon scholars are judged by experts from the University of Oxford in the candidate's field and are therefore in possibly the best position to elect the best and brightest minds.
The application form for the Clarendon is the same as the application form for Oxford and all the information as regards the application can be found on the University's. Following my application to Oxford, I was interviewed by my potential supervisors who headed the research group at Oxford. They also communicated with my referees in India and went through my resumé, statement of purpose, research proposal and previous research projects in thorough detail. We discussed my ability to undertake a D.Phil. (PhD) degree, which is a highly self motivated course, and which normally is undertaken following a masters degree. Since I was still interning at St. John's and would be commencing my PhD with only a bachelor's degree (MBBS) I had to prove that I possessed the necessary training, skills, aptitude and dedication to embark on the course. I had been working towards my D.Phil. in Oxford since the end of my 2nd year of MBBS and had a very focussed idea of the niche subject I wanted my PhD thesis to focus on. I had made sure that I had taken time out to attend extra courses, workshops, conferences and observer-ships conducted by well reputed organisations to hone my skills in those areas which the normal Indian medical undergraduate curriculum overlooks, such as statistical analysis and research methodology. I also made sure I had sufficient experience as a principal investigator and co-investigator on research projects within the wider domain of my PhD subject. And of course, I engaged myself in basketball, social service and cultural activities as well. In my opinion, this is probably why my supervisors recommended my application to the Clarendon Fund, but of course one can never really know for sure.
I'm hoping to finish my D.Phil. by September 2011 and then complete my postgraduate clinical medical training in Paediatrics and further specialise in neonatology. Unfortunately, we still do not have 'foetal medicine' as an independent speciality but ultimately that is what I hope to be able to work in. I am currently working towards a career well balanced between clinical and research medicine.
The Clarendon has always exercised an equal opportunities policy strictly based on merit, unlike the Rhodes which only relatively recently opened its doors to female candidates. I do not feel that being female has affected or currently affects my scholarship in any way.
My D.Phil. research project is being conducted as a collaborative effort between the University of Oxford, St. John's Research Institute and Snehalaya Hospital, Solur. I am extremely happy that I have been able to link St. John's to Oxford through a strong collaboration which may well continue long after my tenure as a student in Oxford ends.
Collaborative research efforts, particularly transcontinental collaborations, are invaluable assets in today's research scenario and highly mutually beneficial not only to the concerned organisations but also to the nations involved in the collaboration. I have no concrete idea about where I'm going to be for the next couple of years or so, but I do know what I am going to be doing and I'm hoping that during the course of my further postgraduate training I am able to continue to work in collaboration with SJRI on the birth cohort we have set up and on other related studies. As mentioned earlier, I plan to balance my career between research and clinical medicine and while Snehalaya Hospital, Solur will definitely be part of the latter I have already forged the pillars of a strong collaboration with St. John's to carry out the former. As of now, many students from St. John's have approached me for advice and guidance mainly regarding two issues: their research projects and their application to Oxford. I think the pace at which the inclination towards research among undergraduate medical students in St. John's has increased over the past five years is grossly underappreciated.
