Cambridge Ho!

Updated on: Saturday, January 09, 2010

A meet on January 8 at the Bengal Chamber Of Commerce brought together Cambridge University’s vice-chancellor Prof Alison Richard, deputy vice-chancellor Prof Sandra Dame Watson and their Indian academic partners.

The meet was to strengthen and celebrate important relationships with leading institutions for teaching, research and policy.

Also present at the event were Sandipan Chakravorthy of the Bengal Chamber Of Commerce, and Malabika Sarkar, president, Cambridge University, Kolkata.
Talking about the long-standing and historical links between the two nations, Prof Richard, said: “I am here to brain train than to brain drain. A recent book on Silicon Valley states how the top-brains behind it are Indians.”

She even pointed the out the similar link between the two, “India is a cricket nation, and Cambridge a cricket university. The Cambridge team is already in Delhi, but am afraid Kolkata has to wait for a year before they see them playing.”

While there were no proposals or agreements to be signed on the visit this year, but Prof Richard wanted to explore something larger than they have been doing. “Our way of engaging to people here are partnerships. It attracts us. We like to collaborate and come up with an institution that takes the ties to a new academic level,” she added.

Prof Richard and Prof Dawson shared their interests in India (apart from academics) on a common platform, in particular “what makes India go global, what makes it a global business centre, and last but not the least - Bollywood. We would like to know more about it all.”

They were also keen to meet Kapil Sibal when in Delhi about his concept of ‘world-class university’.

Sandipan while giving the introductory speech remarked on the university’s 800-year-old history and for producing more Nobel Prize winners than any other UK institution with more than 80 laureates. “The mission is to contribute to society through pursuit of education, learning and research at the highest international levels of excellence,” said the vice-chancellor.

When asked about more Cambridge institutions in Kolkata, she said, “Universities don’t happen overnight, it depends on capital and human resources. We will plan something out, not this time though.”

Cambridge Ho!

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