Last night at the Scottish Universities Alumni reception I met Harshvardhan Nawathe, now Chief Operating Officer at Naandi Water, who was the first person to win a million rupees in India’s premier TV game show (the one that features in the film ‘Slumdog Millionaire’.)

After he won he used some of the money to fund an MBA at Edinburgh Napier University. He was extremely enthusiastic about his time in Scotland and spoke very highly of the course he studied and its positive effect on his career. He now uses his business expertise in the social enterprise sector, as his company delivers water to thousands of Indian villages and he has big plans for continued expansion.

He is a fascinating man with a fascinating story. But so were many of the graduates who were at the event. Indian students have been coming to Scotland for a long time – indeed Professor Anton Muscatelli, Principal of Glasgow University, told a media briefing this morning that the first Indian graduate from his University was in the year 1871. All those graduates – past and present – are tremendous ambassadors for Scottish Higher Education and they are also keen for Scottish Universities to do more in India.

Today got off to an unusual start with two team interviews – a single journalist asking questions of me and four University Principals, plus Janet Brown, CEO of the SQA and a number of other senior academics.   As one of the journalists was from the Times of India, which has a circulation of 13.4 million, it was also a strong reminder of the staggering size of the country.

Perhaps the interview (chaired by Dame Joan Stringer, Principal of Edinburgh Napier) could be better described as a discussion, a very interesting and positive one. Our University Principals were keen to talk about the links they already have with India – ranging from post-graduate programmes, involving study in both countries, to research funded by the Scottish Government and the Indian Yes Bank, into tourism in rural India. A recurring theme in all the media interviews was the way in which Scotland and India can work together to benefit the citizens of both countries.

A particularly pertinent example is the work being undertaken by the criminal justice research pool around security at major events, with a particular focus on the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games – this research will of course take account of the Delhi Commonwealth Games last year.

After the interviews I met with all the university representatives who are in India as members of what is the most senior academic delegation to visit not just India but any part of Asia. Most of our higher education institutions are here at a senior level and all are building on work that is being done.
After this it was on to my first engagement around the education summit being hosted by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). As I entered the building, I couldn’t help but notice a plaque celebrating the fact that Mahatma Ghandi addressed FICCIs fourth AGM in April 1931, and I was particularly taken with the quote on the wall from him  ”industry….. should regard themselves as the trustees and saviours of the poor.” A reminder that this was and remains a country of huge contrasts and huge gulfs. And of the fact that education can help to close them.

After meeting FICCI Director Shoba Mistra, I spoke at an event that had been designed to provide an interactive forum for Indian investment companies and businesses with an interest in higher education to discuss opportunities and areas of mutual interest with the Scottish delegation.

Tomorrow I shall start the day at the FICCI summit, where Scotland is the featured country, and give the keynote address at the inaugural session. This evening I am hosting a reception organised by colleagues in Scottish Development International which will bring together many of the key education and business contacts for Scotland in this remarkable country – a country of 1.2 billion people, to end with another figure!

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.