internationalisation – The KGP Chronicle

Enhancing Global Imprint of IIT Kharagpur through Strategic Partnerships

Exploring scaling-up of international outreach initiatives through dynamic and personalized approach as well as unique offerings at the institutional level.

IIT Kharagpur has been scaling up its international relations activities since 2015. From setting up an International Relations Office to the hiring of staff, setting processes and systems and entering new collaborations. The Institute has also been engaging in various strategic partnerships in harmony with India’s global alliances and outreach goals. Recently the Director Prof. V K Tewari along with Associate Dean International Relations Dr. Anandaroop Bhattacharya and executives from the Office of International Relations, participated in three strategic events to augment international relations activities.

India has a long-standing relationship with ASEAN which has received considerable impetus in the past few years especially in enhancing cooperation in the field of Science and Technology. Doctoral-fellowship in India for ASEAN (DIA), an initiative sponsored by the Ministry of Education supported by the Ministry of External Affairs, Govt. of India, organized the online summit, IIT-ASEAN Research Cooperation to provide a forum to engage in discussions on Research & Innovation Opportunities in IITs and ASEAN by reputed scientists/academicians. A diverse range of academic disciplines at IIT Kharagpur was showcased in addition to the usual engineering disciplines. Here, graduate and doctoral scholars from ASEAN may pursue their studies in areas such as Architecture (Ranked first in NIRF, Govt. of India), Mining (among world’s top 50 in QS Subject Rank), Naval Architecture, Law (Ranked among top 5 in NIRF, Govt. of India), Agriculture (ranked by QS as India’s best) Space Technology (have active collaborations with ISRO) and the newly launched Indian Knowledge Systems, the first of its kind in the IIT system where scholarly knowledge from Indian traditions will be explored in the light of modern scientific principles. It is imperative that IITs reach out to the ASEAN nations assertively and put forward the niche areas which are of common interest to both countries.

Another strategic partnership IIT Kharagpur pursuing is the BRICS Network University. In the meeting held by BRICS NU National Coordinating Committee, Dept. of Higher Education, MoE, Govt. of India, the Institute emphasized adding national mission projects to the current thrust areas of Computer Science and Cyber Security, which have a huge potential such as Precision Agriculture, Ecology & Environment, Mining, Water Resources and Architecture.

IIT Kharagpur also participated in a review meeting held under the Study in India (SII) initiative by EDCIL to deliberate on how to make India a more preferred destination in the world for higher education. The pressing point of this meeting was how to increase the inflow of foreign students in India in comparison to outbound Indian students. The discussions included initiatives such as designing a common portal for all foreign applications, focus on building more short term courses, exchange programs, transfer of credits, joint doctoral programs, the introduction of bridge courses; supernumerary quota seats other than AICTE, orientation programs for foreign students as well as the engagement of faculty experts to attract foreign students in India. Deliberations were also made towards setting up international offices at each of the participating institutes to assist the foreign students, creating an alumni network for foreign students, revisiting regulations for foreign interns. Considerable up-gradation is required in the facilitation of foreign students including accommodation with special facilities offering a student-friendly eco-system to help sustain them through the tenure of their programs. Further, it has been felt that offering personalized courses fine-tuned with the needs of foreign students would strengthen the position of India as an international destination for higher education.

Authors: Alivia Nag, Koushiki Mukherjee are executives at the Office of International Relations. The report is based on discussions and deliberations made in March 2021 at three international outreach summits.

IIT Kharagpur and The University of Manchester Launch Dual Doctoral Programme

IIT Kharagpur and The University of Manchester are pleased to announce the launch of a dual award PhD programme which represents the next phase of our strategic partnership. This will serve to consolidate and build on existing research collaborations across a number of thematic areas including environmental geochemistry, biomaterials and Industry 4.0. Students will be jointly recruited and spend time in both Manchester and Kharagpur, benefiting from the expertise, facilities and infrastructure of two globally renowned institutions.

The programme, launching this July, will be open to IIT and IISc graduates from India during its initial phase. Successful candidates will be required to enrol at both institutions spending the first year at IIT Kharagpur with the remaining time on the programme split between The University of Manchester and IIT Kharagpur according to the project requirements as determined by the supervisors and the Joint Programme Board.

Both institutions will be responsible for making their own award but the two components would form a single research experience managed cooperatively by both institutions. The successful doctoral candidates will receive parchments from both Institutions – each prominently mentioning the joint nature of the work and the partner institute’s name.

While IIT Kharagpur has already established similar programmes with universities in Australia, New Zealand and Canada, this is the first time such a joint programme has been set up with a British university.

Prof. Baidurya Bhattacharya, Former Dean International Relations at IIT Kharagpur who was instrumental in setting up this programme remarked, “This Dual Award PhD is a unique partnership made possible by the trust and respect we have developed over the years for each other’s research quality and academic standards. Starting from defining the doctoral project, selection and admission of the student, to supervision, thesis work and evaluation, and finally award of the degree, everything is jointly administered. I believe this programme will provide the template for equal partnership between IITs and top British universities in the future.”

As a core component of its international strategy, The University of Manchester is entering into a small number of dual award PhD programmes with prestigious partner institutions around the world.

Professor Stephen Flint, Associate Vice-President International, The University of Manchester, said: “The dual PhD with IIT Kharagpur is testament to the University’s strategic ambitions to build world-class research links with India and to encourage more student mobility between the two regions.” He further added, “The University of Manchester established research partnerships with IIT Kharagpur some years ago and this dual award PhD programme is the next step in deepening our relationship, with academic colleagues in both institutions sharing supervision of the PhD students, who will spend 2 years in Manchester and 2 years in Kharagpur.”

Faculty members from the two institutions will jointly define projects which are approved by a Joint Progamme Board. As per the umbrella MoU signed in 2017, some of the areas for potential joint projects include Biomedical Informatics, Advanced Materials, Smart Textiles, and Earth-Environment-Water Sciences. Several potential collaborations between faculty members of both institutions have already been identified with the encouragement of the development of further collaborations. Under this programme, full and partial funding will be available on a competitive basis for four years for a select number of suitably qualified and progressing students.

For more information visit https://international.iitkgp.ac.in/ or contact ir-office@adm.iitkgp.ac.in

Contact: Office of International Relations, IIT Kharagpur, Email: adeanir@adm.iitkgp.ac.in;

Media: media@iitkgp.ac.in; Facebook: @IITKgp Twitter: @IITKgp Instagram: @iit.kgp

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New Normal Thrust to International Research Outreach

The Ministry of Education has released a grant for the amount of ₹ 80 crores to IIT Kharagpur for the Scheme for Promotion of Academic & Research Collaboration (SPARC) Programme which is aimed to promote international research outreach. The Institute which is the national coordinator of the programme is working along with 450 institutions in India and 470 institutions worldwide since the inception of the programme in 2018.

In 2019-20, more than 300 international experts visited Indian institutions registered under SPARC for various projects and workshops. Close to 400 research proposals have been approved for funding to date. Over 26% of the R&D proposals and international outreach are focused on Emergent Areas of Impact which included areas such as Advanced Electronics and Communication, Advanced Functional and Meta Materials, Structural Genomics and Evolutionary Biology, Artificial Intelligence and Cognitive Science, Infectious Disease & Clinical Research. This segment was followed by Action-Oriented Research with a 24% accepted proposals in areas including Future of Earth: Green and Renewable Technologies, River, Ocean, Aviation and Space Management Technology, Technology Enhanced Education and Learning, including Assistive Technologies, Agricultural and Food Sustainability, Technologies for Rural and Women Empowerment, Law and Society. Convergence areas of research is another significant segment with 22% proposals in areas covering Transportation and Smart Infrastructure, Affordable Health Care, Advanced Manufacturing, Science and Heritage, Energy and Water Sustainability.

“The data indicates a clear shift towards transdisciplinary research addressing global challenges and cutting-edge research. The insights will further boost international collaboration opportunities for science and technology institutes in India by aligning their thrust areas with global trends,” remarked Prof. Virendra K Tewari, Director, IIT Kharagpur.

The participation from USA, Australia and UK witnessed highest visits covering close to 65% of the international faculty visitors in 2019-20. The slump in 2020 though was expected, work was carried out through online conferences. In one such initiative, IIT Kharagpur organized the International Conference on ‘Emerging Trends in Healthcare Technology in Post-COVID-19 Era’ with expert participation from USA, UK, Australia, Sweden, South Africa, The Netherlands, India and Shri Amit Khare, Secretary, Dept. of Higher Education, Govt. of India.

Following the initial success of SPARC despite the disruptions in 2020, the Ministry has released the funding for phase two of the programme. Earlier this month Shiksha Mantri Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank had announced the release of the funds on his social media handles.

Talking about the road ahead, Prof. Adrijit Goswami from IIT Kharagpur who is heading the Pan India coordination of the programme said, “Going online is the new normal roadmap at least for programmes like SPARC and GIAN. While online mode has its drawbacks, on the brighter side it may swell the opportunities especially for those who otherwise find such collaborative work arduous due to extended physical visits.”

“With phase two funding of ₹ 80 crores and the structured format of e-workshops, webinars, online classes and even research in virtual mode, the scope for productive academic collaborations at the SPARC-approved collaborating Institutes look promising,” he added.

Contact:

Project: Prof. Adrijit Goswami, Email: goswami@maths.iitkgp.ac.in; Web: https://sparc.iitkgp.ac.in/

Media: Shreyoshi Ghosh, shreyoshi@adm.iitkgp.ac.in

Media Coverage:

Economic Times	Times Now	Jagran Josh
NDTV	ABP Education	Skill Outlook
Hindustan Times	Indian Express	India Today
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More Towards Global Living Experience

Hon’ble Education Minister Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ Inaugurates International Faculty Visitors’ Accommodation at IIT Kharagpur

“I am sure IIT Kharagpur will take the Indian education standards to a new unparalleled level:” Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank, Hon’ble Education Minister

In an initiative towards attracting more faculty from prestigious foreign universities, the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur has constructed new International Faculty Visitors’ Accommodation. The Institute is looking forward to hosting nearly 100 international faculty members for short-term and long-term teaching besides for Research and Development.

A video of the new facilities that were inaugurated can be downloaded from the following link – https://fromsmash.com/IIT-Kharagpur-Fuction-Video

Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank,’ Hon’ble Minister of Education, Government of India, inaugurated the new International Visitors’ Accommodation at a virtual event on Thursday (15th October 2020) in the presence of Shri Sanjay Dhotre, Hon’ble Minister of State for Education, Government of India, Prof. V.K. Tewari, Director, IIT Kharagpur, and other faculty and staff from the Institute. Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ also laid the foundation stones for two new halls of residence for students during the occasion.

Addressing the inauguration function, Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank,’ Hon’ble Minister of Education, Government of India, said, “I would like to ask the students to progress keeping a strong vision and make it their mission to achieve their goals. We are prominently becoming a global education hub and the National Education Policy 2020 is making sure the academicians will study in India and stay in India. Soon, India will teach the world; and the world will come to India to learn.”

Further, Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ said, “With the strong foundation pillars of Quality, Quantity and Access, National Education Policy 2020 is inclusive and will help education reach international standards. I am sure IIT Kharagpur will take the Indian education standards to a new unparalleled level. On this occasion, I congratulate Prof. V.K. Tewari, Director, and his team at IIT Kharagpur and Shri Sanjay Dhotre. Naming the new infrastructure facilities after Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, Shri. Atal Bihar Vajpayee, Bharat Ratna awardees and the legendary Smt. Savitri Phule will inspire students for sure to become leaders.” He laid particular emphasis on the importance of physical infrastructure to achieve our goals of excellence in the global scenario.

The A.P.J. Abdul Kalam International Visitors Residential Complex features fully-furnished studio apartments with modern amenities intended for full-time and part-time international faculty. Apart from 12 regular international faculty, the Institute also hosts international faculty from other foreign universities during the year for short-term courses under Global Initiative of Academic Networks (GIAN), Scheme for Promotion of Academic and Research Collaboration (SPARC) and other programs of the Ministry of Education and Government of India. The Institute also hosts faculty for long-term programs as well. Close to 50 such faculty visited in 2019-2020.

Speaking earlier, Shri Sanjay Dhotre, Hon’ble Minister of State for Education, Government of India, said, “I congratulate IIT Kharagpur on unveiling the news infrastructure facilities. The Institute houses many world-class facilities and I am sure the Institute will be creating a new cutting-edge road map through the National Supercomputing Mission. I am happy about the unveiling of these new residence facilities. Naming the hostels on these eminent personalities will surely inspire the students.” He further emphasized the need for excelling in domain-specific studies and expressed his confidence that every IIT would select a few domains where they can become global leaders.

Foreign Faculty bring in many advantages and unique benefits to the Institute. Some of the key benefits for IIT Kharagpur Faculty and students include:

Multi-institutional Academic and Research exposure
Cross-cultural experience and increase in diversity
International faculty drive the global consciousness at educational institutions. They not only contribute to academia but bring internationalization to the industry by means of developing Intellectual Property
International faculty spearhead the overall globalization of institutes by attracting more international students, collaborations and branding, besides leading the institutes further towards excellence.

Speaking on this occasion, Prof. V.K. Tewari, Director, IIT Kharagpur, said, “I am happy to announce today (15th October 2020) the unveiling of three new infrastructure facilities at IIT Kharagpur. The Institute already has 23 halls of residence named after luminaries. Along with this, we are naming the new boys’ residence of the hall after Shri Atal Bihar Vajpayee and girls’ residence of the hall after Smt. Savitri Phule.”

Further, Prof. V.K. Tewari said, “The Institute is working progressively on the lines of new National Education Policy 2020. The Institute has constituted a task force of 23 faculty members who are making sure that the policy is implemented in the best way possible at IIT Kharagpur. The Institute has also worked tirelessly during the COVID-19 times. Our faculty and researchers developed a rapid portable diagnostic test, painless drug delivery needle, and a physical distancing device, among other innovations and research.”

During this event, foundation stones were laid for two new students Halls of Residence having a capacity of 500 each. IIT Kharagpur already has 23 hostels with a combined capacity of 13,000. These new G+7 facilities will have central airconditioning, a food court and modern firefighting system along with elevators and ramps.

Student strength growth (as of 14.10.2020)

	2018-19	2019-20	2020-21
UG	7034	6988	5780 +1556 (expected from JEE Advanced)
PG	2573	2558	2885
RS	3164	3278	3705
TOTAL	12771	12824	13926

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ABOUT IIT KHARAGPUR

Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur (IIT Kharagpur, IIT KGP) is the first IIT and an Institute of National Importance set up in 1951 under a parliamentary act of the Govt. of India. It has also been awarded the status of the Institute of Eminence by the Govt. of India 2019. IIT Kharagpur is known for its wide and diverse academic disciplines (19 departments, 13 schools, 17 centres and 25+ R&D units), and a range of UG, PG and Doctoral programs in areas including Engineering & Technology, Basic Sciences, Biosciences, Earth Sciences, Medical Science & Technology, Social Sciences and Humanities, Management, Law and Entrepreneurship. Currently, the Institute has close to 13000 students and more than 750 faculty members. The Institute has a very high research focus with an annual research output of 2000 publications with 40000 citations, 50-100 patents, and 30 technology incubations as startups.

The Institute conducts several joint degree programs with Indian and foreign institutions with students from over 15 countries enrolled with the Institute as full-time or short-term foreign students. Each year more than 2500 students graduate from IIT Kharagpur who are rated highly employable in the industry. The alumni include stalwarts who have excelled as industry leaders, award-winning academicians, politicians and public figures, sports personalities and even creative professionals. The Institute has been ranked among the top 5 in the NIRF rank for Engineering, Management, Law and Overall and the best in the country in Architecture. Apart from academics and research, IIT Kharagpur has made a considerable impact in community outreach through its socially relevant projects in areas of Education, Malnutrition, Water and Sanitation, Energy and Environment, Affordable Healthcare, Rural Livelihood and much more.

For more information visit: iitkgp.ac.in. More News: https://kgpchronicle.iitkgp.ac.in/

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FOR MEDIA QUERIES, PLEASE CONTACT

Shreyoshi Ghosh, Executive Officer (Media & Communication), IIT Kharagpur, E: shreyoshi@adm.iitkgp.ac.in, M: +91 8145736048

International Webinar on India the Global Destination for Higher Education, post-NEP 2020

IIT Kharagpur and IIT Kharagpur Alumni Foundation India, October 10, 2020, IIT Kharagpur Alumni Foundation (India) in partnership with IIT Kharagpur organized an International Webinar on ‘India: The Global Destination for Higher Education: Post NEP 2020 Scenario’. Spread over the two days on October 9 and 10, 2020, eminent experts from Indian and global academia deliberated on policy recommendations for the Ministry of Education, Govt. of India, towards the internationalization of Indian higher educational institutions in the light of the New Education Policy 2020.

The mood was set by Prof. V K Tewari Director, IIT Kharagpur and the patron of the webinar and Commander V K Jaitly, Chairman of the webinar. Cdr Jaitly reminded the audience how the recommendations forwarded in the first edition of this initiative in 2017 were incorporated in NEP 2020. He pointed out how Indian students are spending about $16 Bn abroad every year and most of them land up in average universities. They spend 10 to 20 times more in comparison to the ‘value for money’ of the education they can get in India. If the quality of Higher Education in India is enhanced along with the packaging and branding of our educational programs to international students, our country can earn about $20 Bn every year.

Prof. Tewari expressed his views about measuring the contributions of IITs over the decades in the light of the continuing exodus of young Indian talents abroad and product development with global market potential. He believes NEP 2020 has brought the opportunity to finally promote internationalization both inbound and outbound, through semester away and credit transfer programs. He welcomed the concept of a multi-education research university floated under NEP 2020 which will have a long-term impact on the reputation of institutions such as IIT Kharagpur.

Views by Education Minister

Hon’ble Education Minister Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ who was the Chief Guest talked about how NEP 2020 is in sync with global education programs including a credit bank system enabling students to take a break while pursuing their academic programs and awarding certificates, diplomas and degrees. Thus international students will not feel burdened with long-term commitment. He expressed concern over the outflow of billions of dollars every year for foreign education despite the strong higher education system and research facilities in the country especially now with the announcement of NEP 2020 and the proposed National Research Foundation. The recent approach by the Govt. of India inviting foreign universities to open campuses in India and Indian universities to set up foreign campuses might address the challenge. He asserted that the various digital platforms developed under various educational initiatives of Govt. of India since 2014 would help strengthen the internationalization prospects of the country’s higher education system along with outreach programs. He gave the mantra of ‘Stay in India’ and ‘Study in India’.

Online and Short-term Programs

The panelists including Secretary, Dept. of Higher Education Shri Amit Khare contemplated increasing the reach to foreign students under NEP 2020 through online education such as SWAYAM. He also weighed on leveraging the researchers’ network of GIAN and SPARC programs and creating short-term courses for one or two semesters under NEP 2020, in addition, to extensively covering social aspects of cyber-physical research. This idea was further supported by Prof. R T Krishnan, Director, IIM Bangalore who observed that foreign students often opt for short-term courses instead of long commitments due to the uncertain factor of the cost of education. Prof Sandeep Sancheti, VC, SRM University, however, leaned towards a Masters program which he believes can bring international recognition. Prof. M K Surappa, VC, Anna University talked about the contribution of engineering colleges other than IITs both private, central government and those with state universities. Chairman, AICTE Prof. Anil Sahasrabudhe talked about creating a silo of the Indian knowledge system, which has been emphasized under NEP2020, catering to the interests of foreign students.

Funding & Publicity

Revisiting the admission system to Indian universities and funding mechanisms were also discussed. While Prof. Sudhir Jain, Director, IIT Gandhinagar remarked on publicizing funding schemes through webinars and promotional activities by Indian foreign offices, Prof Souvik Bhattacharyya, VC, BITS Pilani opined on the need for a contemporary and youthful approach in the funding and communication programs and improve the perception by engaging existing foreign students as brand ambassadors. Prof. Geeta Mehta from Columbia University and President, Asia Initiatives pointed out the lack of brand awareness about IITs abroad among the general public despite the reputation in the corporate sector. Prof S Vaidhyasubramanium, VC, Sastra Deemed University talked about looking for opportunities in the neighbourhood of SAARC, while Dr R Gopal, Director, Member, Board of Management, DY Patil School of Management (Deemed to be University) emphasized on the importance of the consortium approach for marketing the Indian universities abroad.

Admissions

The issue of bottlenecks in the admission of foreign students was raised by Prof. Pramod K Jain, Director, IIT (BHU) Varanasi who advocated the need for making the admission process and other regulations lucid for the foreign students. The possibility of globalizing NTA and other admission programs was also discussed. US Consul General from Kolkata Ms. Patti Hoffman reflected on the role of international offices at individual institutions to provide the core support system along with exploring collaborative opportunities through designing customized joint programs under NEP 2020.

Infrastructure

A key area that was discussed across all the panels was infrastructural development catering to the living experience and overall campus life of the international students. Prof. Souvik Bhattacharyya, VC, BITS Pilani, called it a deal-breaker and stressed on the need for alternate methods to procure funds for infrastructural development.

International Presence

Another area that found repeated mention was the creating international presence of Indian higher educational institutions through setting up outreach centres working in close association with the foreign offices of the Govt. of India. Prof. Pradeep Khosla, Chancellor at the University of California San Diego noted how US universities have addressed this in UAE. This idea found further support among academic experts from the USA with Prof. Prabhat Hajela, Provost, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute extending the idea to conducting outreach initiatives addressing safety and infrastructural issues by means of induction programs to improve the perception of Indian institutions and foreign students enrollment.

Employment Opportunities through Startup Incubation

The concern of return on investment was expressed by Prof. T G Sitharam, Director, IIT Guwahati who mulled on making internships and employment opportunities available to foreign students. This thought found a distant answer in the deliberations of Prof Prith Banerjee who stated how the students from universities such as Stanford contemplate having their startups than joining corporate jobs and the role the universities play in grooming the students for entrepreneurship.

Action Plan

Commander VK Jaitly, the Webinar Chair stressed the need for setting up a Task Force at the National level and its cells in all the HEIs engaged in the objective of attracting foreign students for higher studies in different schemes. The HEIs should set their goals and the Task Force can play a supporting role in achieving those goals through appropriate funding, creating consortiums and conducting outreach programs.

The sessions were coordinated by Prof Sukumar Rangachari, academician and entrepreneur, Shri Rajah Venkatraman, Webinar Convenor, Ron (Ranbir) Gupta, President, IIT Kharagpur Foundation USA and Varadarajan Seshamani, President, IIT Kharagpur Foundation India as session coordinator.

The webinar was co-sponsored by IIT Kharagpur Foundation USA, PanIIT USA and PanIIT India.

Media Coverage:

Times of India (Special Feature)	Live Mint (Special Feature)	Business Standard
Economic Times	Hindustan Times	Financial Express
The Week	Outlook	Deccan Herald
Yahoo News	Odisha TV	The Hindu
New India Express	PTC News TV	Republic World
The Hindu (Tamil)	NDTV	First Post
ABP Live	Hitavada	Inshorts
Times of India (PTI)	India Today

Media Contact:

Cdr. V K Jaitly, M: +91 9811 777 904; Shreyoshi Ghosh, M: +91 8145 736 048

Internationalization Post NEP 2020

Global Experts to Deliberate on India as the Global Destination for Higher Education post-NEP 2020

IIT Kharagpur Alumni Foundation (India) in partnership with IIT Kharagpur is organizing an International Webinar on October 9-10, 2020, titled ‘India: The Global Destination for Higher Education (Post NEP 2020 Scenario)’. The webinar which will witness deliberations from eminent academic experts and administrators from India and abroad will set the platform for the development of policy recommendations towards the internationalization of Indian higher educational institutions in the light of the New Education Policy 2020. The panel discussions will include ‘Status of Government Institutions in Attracting Foreign Students’, ‘Contribution of Private Sector Institutions in Attracting Foreign Students’, ‘Global Alliances: Gaps and Bridging Them’ and ‘What Makes India as a Preferred Destination for HE post-NEP 2020’.

The event will be graced by Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, Hon’ble Minister of Education as the Chief Guest, Shri Amit Khare, Secretary, Dept. of Higher Education, Ministry of Education, Govt. of India as the Guest of Honour. Prof Virendra Tewari, Director, IIT Kharagpur is the Patron, Commander VK Jaitly, Board Member; IIT Bhuvaneswar is the Webinar Chairman and Rajah Venkat is the Convenor of the International Webinar. Prof. Anil Sahasrabudhe, Chairman, AICTE will be a special guest.

The Webinar is co-sponsored by PanIIT India, PanIIT USA and IIT Kharagpur Foundation of USA. Varadarajan Seshamani, Ron Gupta, Krishen Dhar, Sundy Srinivasan from these organisations are the key organisers.

A large number of Directors of IITs, IIMs, IIITs, NITs and VCs of Government and Private Universities will be attending these brainstorming sessions. Eminent academicians from top foreign universities like Prof. Pradeep Khosla, Chancellor, University of California San Diego; Prof. Prabhat Hajela, Provost, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; Prof. Geeta Mehta from Columbia University; Prof. Prith Banerjee, Former Dean, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Northwestern University will be sharing the gaps that need to be bridged for the Indian universities and colleges to attract foreign students from across the world. Foreign consulate representations actively engaged in international education facilitation are also expected to participate.

Click on this link to Register NOW: https://sites.google.com/view/webinarsep20

Talking about the prospect Prof. Virendra Tewari, Director IIT Kharagpur said, “Academics across the nation are hopeful about the positive changes which NEP 2020 would introduce in the Indian education system across all levels. A key area where we are expecting a significant change is in the flow of inbound and outbound international students.”

A crucial area to be deliberated in the webinar is the new dynamics that would come to play in the higher education scenario in the post-pandemic world including logistics of international travel, cost of international healthcare, stay etc.

Cdr V K Jaitly who conceptualized the initiative in 2017 and is chairing the Webinar feels strongly about the annual outflow of foreign reserves to the extent of USD 16 billion towards the cost of foreign education of about 2.5 lakhs Indian students studying abroad.

“We feel that the time has come when the mindset of Indians to go abroad for even lesser-known universities in the name of higher education will drastically reduce particularly when we talk of Atmanirbhar Bharat in various sectors,” he added.

In addition to the foreign reserves outflow, the country further experiences a loss of intellectual property and a high-quality talent pool in academia and industry adding to the economic burden. Several of the foreign universities have been thriving on Indian academics, researchers and students. India however, has the potential to earn about $ 20 billion every year from the Education Sector.

“India has very few foreign students when compared to the USA, UK, China, France, Australia etc. We are way behind and have a long way to go. We feel that the top 10% of Indian Universities and Colleges both Government and Private can attract foreign students from all over the world,” added Cdr Jaitly.

The two-day Webinar will assess the current status and draft a roadmap to arrest talent streaming out of India and attracting the students globally to Indian universities for pursuing higher education.

“In addition to improving our infrastructure, syllabi and quality of the academics, we may have to launch an outreach program throughout the world,” remarked Webinar Convenor Rajah Venkat.

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If you have any great ideas to make “India, the Global Destination for Higher Education”, please send them to us on email id: hec@paniit.org but limited to 200 words along with your photograph and a very brief profile not exceeding 50 words and we shall include the selected ones in our Recommendations Document that will be submitted to the Education Minister of GOI.

Media Coverage:

The New Indian Express UNI

Media Contact:

Commander VK Jaitly,

Email: jaitly.iit@gmail.com, Mobile: +91 9811777904

Register: https://sites.google.com/view/webinarsep20