HYDERABAD: Education Minister G Jagdish Reddy said exchanges between UK and State varsities were welcome but henceforth, they would not be governed by usual MoUs. Future interactions, he said, would target varsities, identify their core competencies and thrust areas and accordingly work with them.
“Officials from as many as 16 UK universities met and interacted with their counterparts from Telangana. They discussed employment scenarios, student exchange programmes, signed MOUs, and exchanged ideas on intermediate, technical and higher education,” said Reddy, after an interaction with the UK delegation on Friday. The delegation is visiting the country as part of the British Council bilateral programme UKIERI (UK-India Research Initiative).
At the conclave — named “Internationalisation of Higher Education in Mobility, Research, Innovation and Entrepreneurship” — the Telangana State Council of Higher Education (TSCHE) said while gross enrolment ratio in Telangana was way above the national average, the focus is now on quality of education over accessibility. According to data with the British Council, of the 21,000 Indian students currently studying in UK, a considerable number them are from the two Telugu states. Telangana, in a bid to attract more foreign students, has decided to be a part of the Study in India Programme,
“We also want foreign students to participate in events at business schools, those involving social sciences, in hackathons and so forth to foster increased student exchange programmes. Further, the Telangana Startup Yatra will be conducted in association with the University of Sussex where students from both sides will get an opportunity to showcase their creativity and entrepreneurial capacity,” said V Venkatramana, Vice-Chairman of TSCHE.
Besides attracting foreign students, TSCHE is also keen on improving educational standards in existing higher institutions.The focus will be on cutting edge research, aligning it with societal needs and market conditions; according permissions to programmes in new technologies in areas such as mining, textile, pharmacy, automobile, civil engineering, construction technology; focus on manufacturing technologies, particularly the emerging technologies such as 3D manufacturing technology at UG/PG level and reintroduction of part-time courses in technical institutions in consultation with the AICTE.
Looking to the future
TSCHE aims to prepare students and institutions for the future. It will develop a curriculum in the following disciplines
Mining and minerals engineering
Materials science and engineering.
Nuclear engineering
Aerospace Space Defence
Electrical application engineering
Control System Engineering with skills in Instrumentation
Risk management