UK Based Indian student leader Riddi Viswanathan, who is a graduate from the University of Manchester, has been awarded Global International Education Award 2020 for her contributions towards diverse student communities, particularly for her vital role in the campaign and addressing hate crime in UK universities.

Riddi has held leadership positions in the UK as the former diversity officer and the First full-time International Students' Officer at the University of Manchester Students' Union. She has also been elected as the Overseas Representative 2019-20 for the National Union of Students (NUS) UK, where she has been the first Indian to represent over 400,000 overseas students from over 192 countries in the UK.

Riddi, a native of Puducherry, shared the 'Pioneer Alumni of the Year' award with Thomson Ch'ng from Curtin University, Australia.

The Pioneer awards are the only global awards that celebrate innovation and achievement across the international education world. This year's the awards had a total of 18 categories.

On winning the award, Riddi Viswanathan told the IANS, "I am truly grateful to the University of Manchester, my students' union, my family and friends for always encouraging me. This is definitely a great moment for me as we celebrate international education but the challenges faced by the migrant students across the globe due to the pandemic spread has somehow faded the celebration. We can truly celebrate international education when all students, regardless of the colour of their passports can access education equally, globally."

"I am delighted to hear that Riddi has won this award. It is so well deserved and a great recognition of all the work she has done for diverse student communities," said Nancy Rothwell, President and the Vice Chancellor of the University of Manchester.
(IANS)