'UK for sending its students to study science, tech in India'

Updated on: Monday, March 21, 2011

United Kingdom which has one of the world's most reputed educational institutions is also looking forward to send its students to study in India in the areas of science and technology and software development, British Council (India) director Rob Lynes said.
"One of the things I am keen to do is to get more students from the United Kingdom to India to study here because at the moment there aren't enough students coming from UK to study in India," Lynes, who is also the Minister (Cultural Affairs), told reporters on the sidelines of a programme which marked the launching of UK's first National Alumni Network in India by British Council here.

"There are fantastic universities, colleges and institutions in India and there are some partnerships between institutions in UK and India and as part of these research links we want to see that students from UK can take up the opportunity of coming here to studyâ€¦for at least one term," he said adding, "We are hopeful in the coming years it will be a two-way flow of students between both the countries."

Lynes said students from UK can take up studies in the fields of science and technology, software development, microbiology that are the areas of strength in India.

He further said the British Council is working towards developing a Global Alumni Network (of students) who have studied in United Kingdom and is also planning to launch a website in this regard.

"Whether students have studied in UK from China, India or Germany, we are working on how we can build a global alumni network and are also working on building a website," he said.

To a query on whether UK intended to set up campuses of British Universities in India, he said that they would wait on the outcome as the Foreign Universities Bill which has been approved by the Union Cabinet last year was presently before the Parliament.

Higher education is changing rapidly and there is more internationalising of higher education, Lynes said pointing out that the United Kingdom saw greater collaboration in higher education among different countries.

Around 60,000 Indian students studied in United Kingdom last year and there may be an estimated two million UK alumni across India who have studied in UK over the years, he said.

Mike Nithavrianakis, British Deputy High Commissioner in Southern India, said British Council is planning on establishing British business groups in Hyderabad and Bangalore on the lines of Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai.

Over 200 UK alumni spread across India participated in the event.

'UK for sending its students to study science, tech in India'

More Education news