 Well, welcome everyone, and especially one welcome to Justice Singh and to all of the members of the family. It's really terrific that we're holding this event for the first time in Cambridge, and we're delighted to welcome the newest recipients of the Pratapam Singh Cambridge Scholarship, and I want to take a moment to say a very sincere word of thanks to you and to your family for the wonderful benefaction, which supports really outstanding Indian students to study here at the law faculty at Cambridge. As you well know, for over 700 years the law faculty here has been creating exemplary legal scholars and practitioners of outstanding caliber, and we're really thrilled that Indian students supported by you are part of that grand tradition. As of course, are you having graduated in 1992 with an LLM and then really blazing a trail as one of India's leading intellectual property litigators, designated a senior advocate by the Delhi High Court in 2013, and I gather that was the first time that an intellectual property lawyer had been so designated, so that's a great achievement. Of course, then elevated to the post of permanent judge of the High Court of Delhi in 2017. The great students that are attracted here having an opportunity to follow in your footsteps, I think really enrich the intellectual life of the wider Cambridge law community, and that is extremely important to us, and I will say particularly at this time of some uncertainty in the understanding of Cambridge and the United Kingdom's evolution in the wider world. I do want to be really clear that we at the university see India as a preeminent partner for us, going forward absolutely crucial to the future of the university, and we take great pride in the accomplishments of Indian students who come and study here, and then go back to India and make extraordinary contributions at home. And I have no doubt that the current new students coming here will continue in that grand tradition, and we'll have a moment to say more about that soon. But first I would like to ask my colleague Eilish Faran, also a faculty member here in the Faculty of Law and Pro-Vice Chancellor of International and Institutional Affairs to give a little bit of a history of women, and the importance of women studying at the faculty and indeed women in law. Thanks Eilish. Thank you Stephen. I'm delighted to be again attending an event to celebrate the Parthenon Singh Scholars. I'm a great privilege of participating in the event in New Delhi on a number of occasions, and so it's a very special pleasure for me that we're able on this occasion to hold the event in Cambridge. And it's very timely that we do so. Just at the end of last month, on the 27th of September, the faculty officially launched a new initiative, Cambridge Women in Law, which is to mark the contribution of women in law and in particular to celebrate the contribution of Cambridge alumni both to legal practice and the wider world. The launch event marked the centenary of the passing of the Sex Disqualification Brackets, Removal Brackets Act 2019, when women were finally allowed to practice law in this country. Over 200 guests attended the day, and it was hugely inspiring for everyone there. We had three parts to the afternoon. The first was a panel focusing on issues facing women in practice. Then panel oriented around women who studied law, but then gone on to have an impact on the world outside legal practice, such as in the field of public policy. Finally, there was a discussion which I was delighted to facilitate between UK Supreme Court justices Baroness Hale and Lady Arden, and that was in the week when the Supreme Court delivered its judgment on the prerogation of Parliament. So it was a very timely event and very appropriate at that time to celebrate the contribution of Cambridge-trained minds to the development of key issues in this country. Throughout that afternoon at our Cambridge Women in Law launch, we had key themes of equality and diversity, and we particularly focused on the need for greater quality and diversity within the judiciary, particularly at its more senior level. So it's appropriate we remember that event and link it to this other great event here today. And we do so with Justice Singh here as a very fine example of our alumni who built a hugely successful practice in intellectual property law, becoming managing partner of Singh and Singh in New Delhi, and now appointed as a judge of the Delhi High Court. I think we can safely say that our lead guest today, sitting appropriately in the justice seat, embodies all the qualities that we seek to champion through the Cambridge Women in Law initiative. So thank you, Pathwa, for me personally, but from the law faculty at the university as well, for your contribution and for yours and your family's leadership and support. We're delighted that you're with us today. Thank you so much. Professor Hayish, guests from Cambridge, my family who's here and the two brilliant scholars who are going to get the scholarship or who are already here with the scholarship. This is a very, if I must say, a very emotional moment because today when I sat in the LLM class, I was wondering how life comes a full circle, isn't it? So it's really nice to be here in Cambridge and to meet everyone here and to have such beautiful memories again etched over the old ones which exist. And I must say the scholarship event always takes place in September and since we were coming for our science graduation tomorrow and we were very happy to be here in Cambridge with Claire and the whole team and Ailish and the vice chancellor taking so much interest in the scholarship ceremony and the kinds that they've shown us today. I'm very, very happy to be here. And I must give a, say just a few sentences about the scholarship. I'm sure you all know about how it all started. It started when my husband Mr. Manindas Singh who's not here, his 50th birthday was to be celebrated and he said, no, we need to do something different. And that's how the whole concept of giving out a scholarship and setting up a charitable just happened. And we're today on the sixth year of our scholarship and a total of 11 students including the ones who've come here today. The extremely good thing about the scholarship in the last six years or five years is the purpose of the scholarship was to give it to people who are meritorious and who need it which was a merit coming to the scholarship with some focus on intellectual property but I think I'd have to give up that focus now because now I'm a judge and I cannot show a bias anymore for intellectual property. So every year we've chosen students who have at least taken one course the nice thing is whenever we've had students who've been interviewed for the scholarship I like the way the students have made it clear in their SOP that they want to do one subject in IPR whether they do it or not, I don't know really. So the procedure with the scholarship is selected is also very nice and very streamlined. Only those students who get admission into Cambridge and then are shortlisted by faculty of law and a panel is sent to us and I would like to remember Dr. Nikhil Thandir who's not here with us today he and me hold interviews and then we decide on either two or three scholarships and the students who've got the scholarship in the last five years have looked up to their promises and they're all in touch with me and I can say that they've all returned back to India except one I'm not sure but otherwise everyone else has come back to India they're all practicing in India they're contributing to the Indian music system which is what the scholarship is meant for. You need to learn at the best institution in the world and bring back your experiences back to the country that's the purpose and every year the scholars who've been chosen have been really like the top the best students from their colleges etc etc but you know to live up to that the first thing about contributing back to the country is what the scholarship is meant for because when I came here with a Cambridge Trust scholarship which they give out so many of them every year I would have never been able to do an NNN without the scholarship so the motivation for the scholarship is the young deserving students and our family's intention to give back what we've earned and to that extent this scholarship really made us satisfy our goal of giving it back and I'm very happy about that and I would like to mention my experiences in Hughes Hall Dr. Feeling is here it was a brilliant college maybe one or two of the only graduate colleges in Cambridge but what I miss is in Cambridge is the beautiful view I used to have with the cricketer so the reviews so thank you very much for hosting this event today and on behalf of my family, my husband, my entire family who's here we just hope to strengthen this relationship with Cambridge always and of course it's a pleasure to meet Professor Bentley whose textbooks we always read and thank you, thank you very very much Thank you very much and I'm the current director of the LLM program it's a great pleasure for me to welcome you all here today and to meet properly for the first time this year's two scholars so congratulations to you two and thank you for your philanthropy which has made this possible so I was invited just to say a few words about the master's program here in the faculty today we have an outstanding international cohort of about 170 students who come to us each year and that's from 1,200 students who apply to us each year so it's an internationally well-renowned course that attracts a huge number of very well-qualified students and picking the ones to whom we make offers is an incredibly difficult job but it's always a great pleasure to welcome a new cohort as we've been doing for the last week or so the students of course come up to see a very wide range of legal interests of which IP is just one but the IP team on the LLM are outstanding so thank you to Lionel and his team of course teachers who really do put together a fantastic intellectual property law program but as you've acknowledged perhaps you might look beyond IP but if you just so that will be interesting I'm sure Indian students with other legal interests will be pleased to hear that it's been a particular pleasure to welcome so many Indian students to the program in recent years but particularly I've noticed as director seeing the whole cohort what a significant body of Indian students we are admitting each year and that's fantastic it's a very international program we make offers from about 60 jurisdictions in total and we have 42 jurisdictions represented on the course this year and as director with overall responsibility for admissions I do seek to ensure that we maintain a good diversity internationally it brings of course people with different juristic traditions and backgrounds and it's that intellectual richness that we get from that international cohort that's so important and the contribution that the Indian students makes to that is particularly valuable I teach comparative family law and policy in that field there are some very different tales to be told from the Indian perspective but of course the scholarships are absolutely essential you've mentioned the trusts and the juristic work for us here in the faculty so thank you to the representatives of the trusts who are here for all that you and your team do it's so often essential for some of our very best applicants that they have funding that's the one thing that stands between them and coming to Cambridge to study so without generous families such as yours sadly some of our students who are here today would not have been here so thank you for enabling that to happen and I'm sure this year's scholarship recipients share with me in thanking you for that thank you very much I think it's time to present the scholarships I think you'll have some words right first from our two students and then we will thank you respected Pratibawan respected Vice Chancellor Sir all the professors here all the family members and the Cambridge Trust people so I'm Surabhila a recipient of this prestigious scholarship this year I must begin with what I feel at this moment which is an extreme difficulty to come to terms with the fact that I am presenting the scholarship address at the faculty of law in Cambridge so many unimaginable things in one single sentence it's amazing so okay so I will definitely leave out no words which can truly express what I feel but I'll never the rest give it a try it was 25th July 2019 I was returning home from work in Delhi and I was just thinking what on my case is an upcoming complicated matter in Bangalore and I made my peace with the fact that I was not going for an airline but then I received an email from Cambridge Trust and I was driving and I just opened it quickly and I was like okay I've got it I made to my utter surprise I thought that when I have received a scholarship I would do this, I would do that I would call this person but I think I was just froze and so did the traffic behind me I was like there was an attachment to the email I just quickly opened it without caring about the honking and I reread it and I was like oh my god I've got it, I've actually made it I'm going to be in Cambridge but by that time the honking had increased and I was very careful because it helped me come to terms with reality that okay now I have it and I am going to be in Cambridge on this very prestigious scholarship so that was the moment and I think I distinctly remember that day when I went to my home the look on my mother's face the feeling on my grandfather's face and definitely I can't forget the feeling my father had on his face over face time he was so deeply satisfying and encouraging that my belief was reaffirmed that hard work can get you there so thank you, thank you ma'am thank you to the trust for making this unbelievable opportunity like achievable for me other than this I think there are few important people I should definitely mention here one would be Dr. Tandon the interview with Dr. Tandon was full of grilling questions and by grilling I mean I am better than what I had faced in Jessup or Viz much more grilling than that because it actually made me realise what I was looking for in this LLM program my mind was completely clear that I am going for this LLM to do this, this and this so that was what I went out of the interview with and it made my belief more and more strong that it was a good decision to go for the LLM I cannot forget Malindra Saria who I had the opportunity to meet regarding a matter after I got the scholarship and his wise words and his like he appreciated me so much that it has only given me this entire encouragement to do better and better and since now I am here at Cambridge and this entire week I have spent here with complete authority that this scholarship is not just about financial support it is huge, it is larger than that it is about an amazing experience it is about growth it is about a commitment towards oneself and above all it is about being associated with a mentor like you Malindra so thank you, thank you for granting me this opportunity and I reassure you that I am going to leave no stone unturned to get the best out of these nine months the last thing is and what I have really learnt from this is the act of giving back to the community I will make sure that one day I am in a position to be able to change someone's life the way you the trust has changed mine so thank you for that I am going to begin with there is a little intermediating to be standing here in front of the greats of the fraternity but going after Surabhi makes it all the more scary see the nervousness is all the more aggravated considering I have what they call stage child this intrinsic fear of public speaking but it is a little ironical because my bread and butter depends on it I am a lawyer after all I have to be as outspoken as my faculties would permit but I guess that is what life is it is to question your informities to constantly challenge your inhibitions and make me for a better version of yourself as someone who has perfected the same and made unmanifested internal battles within the disowning success of a career trajectory just to say is probably the best person to speak on how tough the battle usually is she would however choose to not give it much importance as we would like her to give humility is her middle name she knows it has been tough but she also knows it was all worth it it is not entirely impossible to imagine her struggle as a woman to be taken seriously in a profession historically dominated by a man to have the same people who had once questioned her abilities to now address her as lordship in an open court is nothing short of a courtroom drama her success is a note to hard work determination and above all persistence the realization that I am to carry her name as part of my identity now is supremely exciting and also a little scary with great power comes lead responsibilities when I applied to the University of Cambridge I doubted my prospect I was confident of being accepted but a little shaky about crossing the huge monetary barriers in the town of costs but man made that possible not even my family had ever studied abroad my father an engineer from the Institute of Technology he had been accepted for a master's program in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology but sadly he did not have a justice in his life not all are privileged not all are lucky unfortunately I would like to believe that I got lucky in this one instance the synchronized gene of events which has led up to this particular moment makes me believe otherwise I sensed it as a responsibility upon my shoulders a duty to imbibe the virtue of generosity and also learned to give back to people in whatever little way I can of the knowledge gained and of the skills learned in that regard I fortunate to be here and a board of excellence a temple of liberal thinking the University of Cambridge is all that I had imagined I remember my mother telling me a story when she received knowledge of my acceptance a professor at Cambridge had come up to her class with an archaic model of a 3D bone at that 28 carvings she presented to the class this is what historians would argue man's first attempt at making a calendar she stopped for a moment she then asked tell me which man would need a calendar for 28 years this is probably a woman little things like this which we often overlook that's what sets this institution apart no contribution is big or small and as the proverbial saying goes without the discovery of the wheel you never have dreamed of developing wings to fly it still seems a dream that I have made my way to Cambridge but seeing justice saying the woman who made at all possible said try to cross me comes as a huge relief her smile reassures me that I am not sincere I am affidavit well I must say as someone who also think you're only because of the generosity of others in granting me a scholarship I found that very moving so thank you both and I also have to say that you have reaffirmed the universal view around the world that Indians are among the best advocates in existence there is something about the traditions and the skills that are developed in education system in India that provides extraordinary abilities for lawyers and we're very lucky to have both of you so thank you very much and now it is genuinely time to present the certificates and I think we should go down probably that would make it easier asante before we conclude I would like to present a small token of thanks on behalf of the university to you this is actually a photograph of the second floor of the library where you will have done most of your work while you were here as a student as did I so I looked at and I thought well I'd like one of those too thank you thank you very much