India and United Kingdom launched a joint initiative “2016: UK-INDIA Year of Education and Research” in New Delhi. Minister of HRD Smriti Irani highlighted the importance of mobility of students and faculty and expressed hope that, under the GIAN Program, more UK academicians would be able to come to India in 2016. She expressed hope that areas of mutual interest in research could be picked up out of the ten research priority areas under IMPRINT (IMPacting Research Innovation and Technology).

During the visit of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the United Kingdom last month, it was jointly announced by both the Prime Ministers that 2016 would be the UK-India Year of Education, Science and Research.

The third phase of UK-India Education and Research Initiative (UKIERI-III), with higher budgetary allocation of 3 million GBP per year from each side, will commence on 1st April 2016. UKIERI-III will provide a basic framework for the bilateral cooperation between India and UK over the next 5 years. It will focus on leadership and faculty development, integration of skills in the education system, e-partnership & research incubation, and enhancing mobility.

What’s Next???

• Over the next year, UK and India intend to deepen their bilateral relationship across education, research & innovation. With this objective, both countries will undertake and support new initiatives.
• India and UK aim to create a professional network of academicians and work towards promoting research and teaching.
• India will look forward to more UK academicians coming to Indian institutions to teach courses under the recently launched GIAN (Global Initiative of Academic Networks).
• In partnership between UK providers and community colleges and polytechnics of India, blended learning courses will be developed to increase employability, with focus on manufacturing and service sectors, to meet the requirements of “Make in India”.
• The approach in research will be inter-disciplinary cutting across various Ministries of Government of India.
• United Kingdom will be the partner country for the “Technology Summit 2016” to be organized jointly by the Department of Science and Technology and Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) on 24th-26th October, 2016 in New Delhi.