12 October 2026
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The Oxford Interfaith Forum has officially announced Kshitij Jain as the inaugural recipient of the Oxford Interfaith Emerging Scholar Prize, recognizing his outstanding academic promise and dedication to cross-cultural engagement.
Kshitij Jain is a doctoral researcher at the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Oxford. Endorsed by the highest recommendations from his university supervisors, he receives this prestigious accolade as a mark of significant academic distinction. The prize is specifically designed to elevate the voices of emerging scholars addressing complex global issues in religious contexts and interfaith textual study.
‘We are delighted to recognize Kshitij Jain as the inaugural recipient of this prize’, said the Selection Committee. ‘His research reflects the exact intersection of academic excellence and deep interfaith engagement that this award was established to honour. We look forward to his contributions to our scholarly community’.
‘The Selection Committee was deeply impressed by Mr Jain’s research’, said Dr Thea Gomelauri, Director of the Oxford Interfaith Forum. ‘His contribution to the comparative study of religions exemplifies the Forum’s mission to connect global scholarship with multiconfessional communities to generate new knowledge about religious traditions and texts. We are thrilled to honour him as our inaugural prize holder’.
Upon hearing the news of the award, Mr Jain highlighted the broader significance of the field: ‘Interfaith education plays a vital role in today’s complex global climate, connecting the diverse academic fields that study the world’s religious traditions and cultures, while fostering deep, collaborative ties among various communities. I look forward to contributing to both intellectual rigour and interfaith dialogue, and I am profoundly grateful to the committee for this honourable recognition, as well as to those whose dedication sustains this critical work’.
The official award ceremony will take place during the UN World Interfaith Harmony Week. Further details regarding the event will be published by the Forum in the coming months.
About the Oxford Interfaith Forum:
The Oxford Interfaith Forum is a global, intercultural, and interdisciplinary academic hub that advances scholarship related to the comparative study of religions, and sacred texts. Recipient of the prestigious 2024 Guru Nanak Interfaith Prize and the 2023 UN World Interfaith Harmony Week Award, the Forum hosts twelve signature Thematic International Interfaith Reading Groups to equip the next generation with the knowledge and skills needed for a pluralistic society.
Connect with us:
For updates on the Prize Ceremony, visit Oxford Interfaith Forum on LinkedIn or subscribe via YouTube.
