My first meeting of the day was with the UK High Commissioner Sir Richard Stagg, at his Residence which is reputed to have the most beautiful garden in India.  It was my third time at the house and certainly he and his wife – who have a passion for gardening – have made it even more lovely and inviting. At three acres it must also be the largest in this teeming city of New Delhi.   

We sat out on the veranda in the pleasant morning sunshine and we were joined by Andrew Jackson, Counsellor at the High Commission for the Knowledge Economy and Sally Goggins, the Head of Education from the British Council here.    

We had an interesting and detailed discussion about education in India and Scotland and it was good to find all three British officials enthusiastic about Scottish Universities and Colleges and the current and potential co-operation between them and Indian institutions.

Finally, I outlined the Scottish Government’s plans for a referendum on independence in the second half of this parliamentary term, and explained how that goes hand in hand with our work to promote Scotland internationally as a modern, confident, creative and dynamic country.

Leaving Delhi, we drove for an hour out to Greater Noida in the Gautan Budh Nagar district of the state of Uttar Pradesh but interestingly, still part of the National Capital Region. After a slightly hair-raising journey – passing vans with people hanging out the back, bicycles carrying what appeared to be impossibly large loads and even an ox in the middle of the road – we arrived at Gautam Buddha University which is not far from the track where India’s first Formula 1 Race was held a fortnight ago.

The University is a purpose built postgraduate facility on 550 acres of former farm land.  The sheer scale and scope of the architectural achievement is breath taking.  It is not yet complete, but already there are 2500 students in a total of 8 faculties. All students and faculty members up to and including the Vice Chancellor live on site.   

We were there to witness the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the University and the Scottish Qualifications Authority which is going to validate the work of a new Centre for Professional Development being established in the University.

The SQA has partners world wide and this new addition is prestigious and likely to lead to further activity.

We then toured the University and were introduced to its very distinctive core value of Buddhism. All students take a course designed to teach them the distinctive tenets of the Buddhist approach which include compassion, humility and good manners.  The University has a purpose built meditation centre, which was remarkable and beautiful and in front of it is a monument which features statues of those who have changed this country by standing up for humanity and equality.

The University embodies the passion of the Chief Minister of the State for Buddhist teaching and for equal rights and over lunch the Vice Chancellor and I  discussed the potential for some Scottish students to attend short courses and to sample the ethos and the marvellous surroundings as well as the academic excellence in subjects such as IT, Management, Law, Governance and Engineering.

Our journey back was less eventful, and we had time to stop at the India Gate and the superb Lutyens designed Government complex which includes the Presidential Palace.  It was there that we saw several monkeys calmly crossing the manicured lawns and the busy streets.

Finally, I paid a call on Sam Pitroda who is Chairman of the Innovation Council and the  personal adviser to the Prime Minister on Public Information, Infrastructure and Innovations.  He is a highly influential and charismatic individual and I was very interested in his explanation of the work of the Knowledge Commission and the Innovation Council. The investment in digital infrastructure and connectivity that has been made by the Indian Government has been massive, and he has been the key advocate of that priority believing, as he does, that it enables an even more significant change – the empowerment of citizens through information.

He was interested in the work that Scotland is doing on renewables, and particularly in marine energy. We also considered the way in which Scotland’s Higher Education research excellence and pooling could be paired with research partners in India and how Scottish Education at all levels might fit onto the Education Platform in the Indian Technological revolution.

Now I am preparing for tomorrow’s meetings as well as for the FICCI HE Summit on Thursday and Friday, at which the highest level Scottish University delegation ever to visit India will be present.  

Michael Russell MSP
Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning

India Education Visit 2011
Daily updates on the ScotIndia page as well as via the @EngageForEd twitter (hashtag #ScotIndia11).

Background: India Visit 2011 – Strengthening Scottish Links.