In Conversation with Deepika Sriram, the first recipient of the Pratibha Singh Cambridge LLM Scholarship

Last year, Senior Advocate Pratibha Singh had established the Pratibha Singh LLM Scholarship for students pursuing an LL.M. at Cambridge University. A few weeks ago, Deepika Sriram of National Law University, Delhi, became the first recipient of this scholarship. In an e-mail interview with Bar & Bench, Deepika talks about the scholarship application process and her future plans..Bar & Bench: Can you tell us a bit about the application process?.Deepika Sriram: The process is fairly straightforward. One can apply for the scholarship as a part of the regular LL.M applications made to Cambridge. The deadline is usually in mid-November. There is, however, a general essay that is required to be sent with the application, mainly describing why one should be considered for the particular scholarship..B&B: Would you know how many applicants there were?.DS: I think everyone who got accepted for the LL.M programme this year from India were considered for the scholarship. But the main focus was on particular work done in the field of intellectual property rights. There is shortlist based on the applications and then an interview, where Ms. Prathiba Singh and Dr. Nikhil Tandon selected the final scholars..B&B: What are you specializing in?.DS: I will be specializing in international law, with a specific focus on intellectual property rights. I am told that Cambridge has a wonderful faculty and centre for IPR and I am really looking forward to being associated with it..B&B: Did you apply for other scholarships?.DS: I applied for the Inlaks scholarship as well and was shortlisted for the interview. However, that didn’t work out! But luckily for me, I was offered the Prathiba M. Singh Cambridge Scholarship and I was able to take up the LL.M at Cambridge..B&B: What was the role of your faculty in helping with the application process?.DS: The faculty at NLUD has been a great support system throughout the application process. Both in terms of vetting my applications as well as prepping for the interview, my professors were extremely supportive and gave me constant feedback. Considering many of them had gone through the process themselves, I was able to benefit from their experience and perspective. The institution itself was greatly supportive in terms of resources and just helping out with the application process that can otherwise get very stressful!.B&B: Anything else you would like to add? .DS: It is not every day that one gets to be a part of a great institution. I feel I have been lucky twice over; doing my law from NLU, Delhi and now joining Cambridge to do my LL.M. I am really looking forward to my time here and experiencing the intellectual brilliance and the cultural confluence that Cambridge is known for, the world over!