Joe Biden launches 'Quad Fellowship' for students to pursue STEM studies in US

On Friday, September 24, United States President Joe Biden unveiled a new 'Quad Fellowship' for students of Quad countries to pursue higher degrees in 'STEM programmes' in the US. It was announced during the first in-person meeting of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, comprising the United States of America, India, Japan and Australia. Addressing the Quad Leaders' Summit, Biden applauded the Quad's impressive accomplishments and said that this is a  gathering of democratic partners who share a worldview and a common vision for the future. "We made clear pledges to a shared and positive agenda for a free and open Indo-Pacific when we met six months ago. I am pleased to report that we are making fantastic progress today," he was quoted as saying by ANI. 

The fellowship will allow students from Quad nations to have more options to pursue their careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics in the US. Every year, 25 students from each of the four nations will be chosen to study masters and post-doctoral degrees in STEM subjects at renowned universities, which will be sponsored by private donors. Notably, leaders of the Quad countries, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, were hosted by Biden at the White House. At the meeting, PM Modi was joined by Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Japan's Yoshihide Suga. Earlier on Saturday, President Biden held his first bilateral meeting with PM Modi since the Democrat leader assumed office earlier this year. Both leaders discussed a wide range of issues including, COVID-19, climate challenges, trade, and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.

President Biden stresses the importance of manufacturing vaccine 

Addressing the summit, Biden also said that the Quad vaccination effort is on track to produce 1 billion doses of vaccine in India by 2022 in order to boost global supplies. He also asserted that nothing is more important than all of them working together to defeat the menace of the COVID-19 pandemic. Biden stated that he intends to maintain his commitment that America will become a vaccination arsenal, similar to how it was an arsenal of democracy during World War II. The United States has already exported about 160 million doses to 100 countries, far more than any other country, he claimed. Biden further added that the US and its foreign partners are moving swiftly to scale up vaccine production in other nations across the world so that they can manufacture as well. 

(With agency inputs)

Image: Twitter/ @ANI