Karnataka, British council sign MoU to strengthen education, research exchange

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], December 17 (ANI): Karnataka state higher education council (KSCHE) and British Council on Thursday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to facilitate proficiency of the English language among students, in the presence of Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa, UK foreign secretary Dominic Raab and other officials.
Speaking at the occasion, the chief minister said, "The two governments are signing a first-of-its-kind three years MoU involving collaboration on leadership development in higher education institutions. India and UKs relationship span several sectors of cooperation including trade and commerce, education, science and technology, defence, and culture."
Yediyurappa further stated that the government of Karnataka's Global Innovation Alliance (GIA) initiative for innovation partnerships with countries across the globe had contributed to Karnataka's global image as the leading tech hub.
The CM welcomed the establishment of the tech hubs and tech clusters programmes as well as go global programmes that take innovative start-ups from India to the UK.
Speaking at the joint press conference Deputy Chief Minister Ashwatha Naryana, said, "India is poised for a big change in education. National Education Policy (NEP) is serving as a transformation opportunity. Karnataka state is at the forefront of the implementation of NEP. Collaboration with UK through British Council is happening at an opportune time. Planned initiatives through this collaboration will immensely benefit the stakeholders of higher education."
Barbara Wickham OBE, Director India, British Council, said, "The MoU is a further step in realising the mutual vision of a deep, strong India-UK education relationship while supporting the knowledge ambitions laid out in India's National Education Policy 2020. Through this MoU, we look forward to creating more education and employment opportunities for aspiring students of Karnataka as well as supporting the state's vision for stronger higher education systems."
Janaka Pushpanathan, Director South India, British Council said, "Students and researchers from South India, especially Karnataka, value the UK higher education sector, and we expect the engagement to go up as part of the MoU."
The Mou will facilitate student mobility and faculty exchange across higher education institutions (HEIs) in Karnataka and the UK is a key priority of the MoU to enhance research and support internationalisation of HEIs. (ANI)