Straight back on to the busy road out to Greater Noida again this morning. This time we were destined for another part of the impressive knowledge park development, the Strathclyde SKIL Business Campus. As I  arrived the Saltire and Indian flags fluttering in the gentle breeze were an early indication of the sense of true partnership that has driven and delivered this unique development.

This is Strathclyde University’s first overseas campus, a joint venture with infrastructure company SKIL, and it is impressive in the scale of their ambition and their plans to grow year on year from a small, in Indian terms at least, base. Even as the campus opens its doors to the first students, the plans for future growth and expansion are clear as the  land adjoining the building is already purchased.

After a few short speeches I was invited to participate, with staff and students, in a traditional lamp lighting ceremony (the way in which new things are inaugurated in India ) and then to plant a tree – both symbols for the university community  of their wish for the campus to flourish. Of course, Strathclyde is a well known Scottish university, globally recognised for it’s management programmes and one of the eight Scottish universities in the world’s top 400. Access to a facility with this pedigree and renown can only help India’s business managers of the future to realise their own ambitions and the country to flourish.

The unique nature comes in the fact that students will spend part of their course studying in Glasgow, with a curriculum there and here which has developed to provide the best for each individual  circumstance. The University raised with me the possibility of Scottish students studying with them too and I am keen to see that idea pursued.

After the formalities I gave detailed interviews to journalists from the Financial Express and the Economic Times, which are two of India’s best-read business newspapers.  Both papers were interested in the potential for growth in Scottish students studying in India and Indian students studying in Scotland. Other  questions focused on Scotland’s ability to work with India to achieve an increase in the number of Indians in higher education and in ways, such as that demonstrated by the Strathclyde SKIL partnership to find innovative means to deliver a large  volume of  high quality graduate and post-graduate qualifications.

Then it was back to the city and across it as we made our way through thick traffic to the  Open Learning Campus of the University of Delhi, where I heard more about their exciting work with Edinburgh’s Telford College. This  creative and dynamic approach to distance learning seems to have enthused the students who asked me lots of questions. One of them came up with a good idea for encouraging interaction between students in both countries which I think Engage for Education could take on board – watch this space !!

The University of Delhi Vice Chancellor, Professor Singh, made a fine speech about the purpose of education, quoting the work of Mahatma Ghandi. In the partnership between Telford and the University he saw the emergence of “hands on learning” which Ghandi felt was the only way to instruct the mind and heart.
   
I think Scottish plans for college regionalisation will help to build the initiative of places like Telford so that there can be FE activity in this area, bridging the artificial gap between FE and HE. I think this particular visit also showed why Ministerial visits can be useful – opening doors, providing a catalyst for discussion of new possibilities and hearing first hand from those involved.

We went straight from this event to witness another Memorandum of Understanding, this time recognising Scotland and India’s mutual interest in energy. This latest agreement will see Aberdeen University and the University of Petroleum and Energy Studies offer a degree including two years of study in India and two years of studying in Aberdeen with a particular emphasis on renewable energy. This plays to our strength and their strong interest and is a good example of Scottish excellence being recognised and enhanced by Indian expertise. Another purpose in this type of visit is to draw people together and ask them to help Scotland. My final engagement today – which I am now on my way to – is a reception for the alumni of Scottish universities who are living in India; the first such event hosted jointly by our universities in this country.

Graduates of Scottish universities or colleges are often the best ambassadors for our education system and it is always a privilege to meet them and work with them. This particular event will also be attended by the most  senior delegation from Scottish higher education (including four Vice Chancellors) ever to visit India – another sign that every part of higher education knows how important it is to think of India and to turn those thoughts into action.

Michael Russell,
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.