The British Council has entered into a partnership with the Welsh and Telangana government for research and education exchange.
P. Sabitha Indra Reddy, Telangana’s Education Minister, and her counterpart from UK’s Wales, Kirsty Williams MS, signed an MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) to advance bilateral research and education exchange among both the entities.
The MoU will support the advancement of collaborative and mutually beneficial programs in Telangana and add to the increased research and social linkages in the field of higher education between both sides.
The MoU is an outcome of a longstanding collaboration between the Telangana government and the UK. Throughout the past couple of years, the British Council, the (TSHEC) Telangana State Higher Education Council, and the UK’s international organization for cultural relations and educational opportunities, have been working together to accomplish Telangana’s knowledge and employment ambitions for its youth.
In October 2018, the Telangana government, and the British Council South India signed an MoU on strengthening education and cultural cooperation in Telangana by building opportunities for youngsters in the state. This key partnership was followed by a high-level delegation of UK universities Vice-Chancellors to India in September 2019 as a component of the British Council’s UK-India Education Research Initiative (UKIERI) program.
As a result of the state MoU and the VC delegation, the Welsh government and the Telangana State Higher Education Council, are currently pushing ahead, to guarantee that both the higher education groups work on developing and enhancing the current relationship and work on mutually beneficial areas of interest in the field of education.
The pivotal areas of interest include advancing research, entrepreneurship, and innovation, university partnerships including fields of science and technology, and improving employability and talents among students in Telangana.
Williams stated, “Through this MoU and our strategic partnership with Global Wales, I see real scope for developing research partnerships, student and academic exchanges that will mutually benefit both Wales and Telangana, now and in future.”
Barbara Wickham, Director India, British Council, stated “This first of its kind partnership between an Indian state and Wales will help strengthen the international exchange between the higher education sectors of India and the UK, leading to greater research, innovation and stronger education systems. This partnership will moreover support our existing initiatives such as UKIERI and Newton Bhabha and make more education and employment opportunities for the aspiring, young people of Telangana.”
Janaka Pushpanathan, the Council’s Director, South India stated “Over 40 percent of Telangana’s population is in the employable 18-40 age bracket, and we are confident that this MoU will provide impetus to the ambitions of Telangana’s youth who aspire to be a part of a global workforce. We look forward to our continued partnership with the Telangana government and to be able to enable collaboration between higher education institutes in Telangana state and Wales to improve education and research outcomes, impacting student employability.”
Sabitha Indra Reddy stated that MoU will enhance students’ access to quality education, employability, and skills, by giving them the correct research and entrepreneurial skills. The projects arranged under the MoU will guarantee long-lasting academic and social linkages with the higher education institutions in Wales, she included.
