New Delhi Friday 11 December 2015
Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) and O. P. Jindal Global University (JGU) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to facilitate collaboration between emergent research universities in South Asia for teaching, academic and research activities.
The signing took place at the British Council offices in New Delhi on 9 December, at the start of a three-day British ministerial visit led by the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills Sajid Javid MP and the Minister for Universities and Science Jo Johnson MP to promote cooperation on education, skills and research.
QMUL’s Vice Principal (International) Professor David Sadler and O.P. Jindal Global University’s Vice-Chancellor and Director of International Institute For Higher Education Research and Capacity Building (IIHEd) Professor (Dr.) C. Raj Kumar signed the MoU, under which QMUL expresses support for the International Institute for Higher Education Research and Capacity Building (IIHEd), O. P. Jindal Global University, in its endeavour to create an Association of Emergent South Asian Research Universities (AESARU).
The AESARU is perceived as a network of universities that are relatively newly-established, have or aspire to a significant research ambition in their institutional mission, aim to contribute to economic and social progress, actively promote integrity, excellence, and equality of opportunity and are genuinely not-for-profit in their operating model. It intends to be recognised as a participatory, progressive, and values-based network organisation, transcending national boundaries and encouraging substantial and continued self-development of its members and of higher education within South Asia more generally.
Under the MoU, QMUL will facilitate the building of a network for the AESARU and will cultivate members not only from its own extensive network in the region, but also from outside. The two institutions will jointly organise meetings and conferences for the network activities. Other AESARU activities will include, among other things, student and faculty exchanges, research and teaching collaborations and summer programmes.
Professor Sadler said: “Building on our existing partnership with O.P. Jindal Global University (JGU), Queen Mary University of London is pleased to be working in close collaboration with the International Institute for Higher Education Research and Capacity Building at JGU on this exciting new project. It signals our long term commitment to working in India, and South Asia at large, and we look forward to helping facilitate greater information exchange, teaching and research collaboration between member institutions of this new network across the region.”
He added: “It’s a particularly opportune moment for new universities across South Asia to be learning from each other and developing mechanisms for collaboration and mutual support, and QMUL is uniquely placed in the UK to support this process”.
Professor Kumar said: “We have had the opportunity to partner with leading institutions across the globe, but this partnership with Queen Mary University of London is truly special, not only will it help set up progressive global exchange and study opportunities for students and faculty of both institutions, but also help create a framework of economic and social progress that actively promotes excellence, and equality of opportunity for the youth in the South Asian region.”
Dr. Kumar further highlighted, “there is a dire need for institutions in the South Asian region to participate and build a stronger base for policy making in the higher education sector in their respective countries”. He called for institutions with similar goals to partner and contribute to this vision.
The Centre for South Asian Legal Studies, Centre for India – China Studies and the Centre for a New South Asia at JGU will be actively engaged in the functioning of the AESARU.
Director of the British Council India Rob Lynes said: “The British Council supports partnerships between UK and Indian Universities, and with 2016 being the UK-India year of education, research and innovation, we trust this new relationship between Queen Mary University and OP Jindal Global University will be both a productive and mutually beneficial partnership.”
About O.P Jindal Global University & IIHEd
JGU is a non-profit global university established by the Haryana Private Universities (Second Amendment) Act, 2009. JGU is situated on an 80-acre state-of-the art residential campus in the National Capital Region of Delhi.
The vision of JGU is to promote global courses, global programmes, global curriculum, global research, global collaborations, and global interaction through a global faculty.
IIHEd is an independent research institute within JGU that will be focused on pursuing research and capacity building initiatives on different aspects of higher education in India and beyond, with the vision of contributing towards institution building for nation building
IIHEd will conduct research and offer advice on all aspects of higher education with a strong focus on curriculum development; pedagogical innovations; faculty engagement; faculty recruitment, retention and development; research and knowledge creation systems; promotion of scholarship and building research capacities; developing international collaborations; benchmarking and assessments of institutions; and for providing institutional support on law, policy and regulations relating to higher education.
About Queen Mary University of London
Queen Mary University of London (QMUL) is one of the UK’s leading universities, and one of the largest institutions in the University of London, with 20,260 students from more than 150 countries.
A member of the Russell Group, we work across the humanities and social sciences, medicine and dentistry, and science and engineering, with inspirational teaching directly informed by our research – in the most recent national assessment of the quality of research, we were placed ninth in the UK (REF 2014).
We also offer something no other university can: a stunning self-contained residential campus in London’s East End. As well as our home at Mile End, we have campuses at Whitechapel, Charterhouse Square and West Smithfield dedicated to the study of medicine, and a base for legal studies at Lincoln’s Inn Fields.
We have a rich history in London with roots in Europe’s first public hospital, St Barts; England’s first medical school, The London; one of the first colleges to provide higher education to women, Westfield College; and the Victorian philanthropic project, the People’s Palace based at Mile End.
QMUL has an annual turnover of £350m, a research income worth £100m, and generates employment and output worth £700m to the UK economy each year.
For more information, please contact:
| V Taraneh Dadar International Press Officer Queen Mary University of London t.dadar@qmul.ac.uk Tel: +44 (0) 0207 882 5404/+44 (0) 7701 046950 | Kakul Rizvi Joint Director, Communication and Public Affairs O.P. Jindal Global University krizvi@jgu.edu.in Tel: 8396907273 |