Souraja Kundu, an alumna of the Indian Institute of Technology-Guwahati (IIT-G), has been awarded the prestigious 2025 Quad Fellowship. The Fellowship aims to foster cross-national collaboration, interdisciplinary innovation, and leadership development. A graduate from the Batch of 2021–25, Souraja had received her B. Tech. degree in Electronics and Electrical Engineering during the 27th Convocation of IIT Guwahati. She is also a recipient of the Governor of Assam Gold Medal.
Considered as one of the world’s most competitive international fellowships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), it will enable Souraja to pursue her Ph.D. in Machine Learning at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU), USA. Speaking about the fellowship, Souraja said, “The best thing about the Quad Fellowship is the opportunity I get to make friends with interdisciplinary STEM researchers across the world and take initiatives together to create impact on social and policy level through our research.”
Expressing gratitude for the research opportunities at IIT Guwahati, she thanked her mentors who supported her in every aspect to learn, grow, and explore whatever research she wanted to pursue. Notably, Quad Fellows receive financial support for graduate studies; global leadership training and curated academic programming and access to a lifelong international network of leading scientists, technologists, and innovators.
The recipients of Quad Fellowship are selected through a multi-stage process including an online application, expert review and final panel interview. The process evaluates the applicant’s holistic attitude towards academic excellence in STEM and passion for science, capacity to bridge differences, and orientation toward results. This year, a total of 37 students from 11 countries were selected for the 2025 cohort, with 25 Fellows placed in U.S. institutions and 12 in Japan.