Abu Dhabi, July 19, 2017: NYU Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) Research Professor of Engineering, Vice Provost for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, and startAD Managing Director Ramesh Jagannathan has been awarded the 2017 Rhodes Trust Inspirational Educator Award.

The Inspirational Educator Award aims to highlight prodigious teaching from around the world. Rhodes Scholars are invited to nominate exceptional mentors who have had a profound influence on their lives before they received their scholarships.  The Rhodes Scholarship is a postgraduate award supporting exceptional students from around the world to study at the University of Oxford.

Jagannathan was nominated for the award by 2016 Rhodes Scholar and NYUAD alumna Farah Shamout. “I believe Professor Ramesh is deserving of this award because he exemplifies what it truly means to be a mentor while portraying humbleness and fulfilling his duty to the fullest, not only as a teacher but also as an educator who cares about his relationship with his students,” wrote Shamout in her nomination letter.

“Last year, it was a remarkable feeling when Farah Shamout, whom I had mentored for four years, informed me that she had been selected as a Rhodes Scholar. And last week, when I received the letter from the Rhodes Trust that Farah had nominated me for the Inspirational Educator Award, and that I had been selected to receive the award, I was touched at a fundamental level,” said Jagannathan. 

“NYUAD Vice Chancellor Al Bloom told me, when he offered me the faculty appointment nine years ago, that excellence in teaching and mentoring is at the core of NYUAD, and that he believed in me to help in this process. I appreciate the trust and confidence that Al and my colleagues have placed in me to be part of this remarkable NYUAD story,” he added.

Charles Conn, Warden of Rhodes House wrote a congratulatory letter to Professor Jagannathan in which he said: “The vision and energy of the current Rhodes Scholars here in Oxford suggests great hope for the future – the power of friendship, creativity and a commitment to service should not be underestimated, even in a world where the challenges are manifold. Thank you for your part in this. It is with deep appreciation for the work you have done in inspiring young people that I am delighted to name you a 2017 Rhodes Inspirational Educator.”