University Strengthens Cooperation with India
The University of Turku looks towards India. In spring, the University made a cooperation agreement with the Indian Sardar Patel University.
Narendra Modi, who was chosen as the Prime Minister of India in May, and Rector Kalervo Väänänen met in Gandhinagar, India, at the beginning of the year.
India is investing strongly in the development of its university system. Within the last ten years, several new universities have been established in the country.
– It is wise for the Finnish universities to strengthen their cooperation with the Indian universities. In the near future, one in four of the student-aged population in the world will be Indian, says Rector Kalervo Väänänen.
According to Väänänen, the experiences of the cooperation with Indian research institutes, for example in the field of diagnostics, have been very positive.
– We are now exploring the possibilities of expanding the cooperation to the field of education export, among other things.
Väänänen signed the cooperation agreement with the Sardar Patel University during his lecture trip to Gandhinagar, the capital of Gujarat, at the beginning of the year. The state Chief Minister Narendra Modi, who was chosen as the Prime Minister of India in May, also attended the singing.
Sardar Patel University is situated in the city of Vallabh Vidyanagar, which is in the Gujarat state of 60 million people on the west coast of India. The universities will start developing their cooperation in education and research. Sardar Patel University was established in 1955 and has approximately 45 000 students.
Väänänen gave a speech on the Finnish university system in the National Education Summit in January. There were 1 000 participants from all over India.
Text: Tuomas Koivula
Translation: Mari Ratia