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Updated on: Monday, December 07, 2009

After signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Association of Indian Universities (AIU), Universities Scotland is gearing up to make the cooperation work on the ground. A team of Scottish academia and enablers visited India recently to meet like-minded, quality-seeking Indian universities, and know what they could do together to impart quality higher education globally.
“Scotland has global strengths in key industries such as life sciences, energy, financial and business services, and information technology, which are also important to India’s continued growth. Coupled with India’s capabilities, the opportunity for mutually beneficial partnerships across many sectors is clear,” said Mark Newlands, Manager, Education, Trade and Investment, Scottish Development International.
Part of Scotland’s student-friendly initiatives are the Saltire Scholarships — a scheme offering students from India, Canada, China and the USA the opportunity to study at the postgraduate Masters level in Scotland. 2009 marked the first year of the scheme, which offers 200 awards of £2000 (funded by the Scottish government and matched by contributions from Scottish universities and higher education institutions) towards successful applicants’ course fees. Under the scheme, 50 Indian students are now studying for their Masters degree at Scottish Universities. The new online application process opened last month and applications should be made direct to institutions latest by June 11, 2010. For more information,visit scotland scholarship.com or contact Lyndsey Hayes, British Council Scotland ([email protected] and +44 131 524 5705).
Besides the above, Scotland’s Fresh Talent Post Study initiative welcomes people from around the world who want to live, work or learn in the country. Students who are keen to work under this migration route should have graduated from a UK institution with a recognised qualification.
Successful applicants will be granted permission to work for up to two years without a work permit. Since 2005, over 8,000 qualified graduates have taken advantage of the programme. Said Newlands, “India is a partner of choice for us. Unlike other countries, Indian students are not mathematics for us, where we see them as volumes or a market. We see them as a future quality workforce.”
The visiting Scottish delegation had a few Scottish universities keen to partner with quality Indian institutes to offer joint degree programmes, student-staff exchange and build research and development together. The Robert Gordon University for instance, did not plan to open any campus in India, but it was sure that the partnership with IIT-Chennai (under the UK-India Education and Research Initiative programme) could grow. “With IIT Chennai, we have a research-based programme that is mutually beneficial to both the bodies,” said Professor John F Watson, Dean, Faculty of Design and Technology, The Robert Gordon University.

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