Furthering Higher Education Partnerships - UK & K'taka launched

British Council, the UK's international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural exchange, and the Karnataka State Higher Education Council (KSHEC), the apex body for promoting academic excellence, policy formulation and perspective planning for the growth of higher education in the State, launched the 'Furthering Higher Education Partnerships - UK and Karnataka' programme to further bilateral cooperation in higher education exchange between the UK and the State of Karnataka.

As per the agreement, British Council will provide seed funding towards capacity building and faculty development in consultation with KSHEC.

The programme has been designed to enable three state government universities- Bangalore North University, Bangalore City University, and Gulbarga University, to enter into partnerships with three UK universities- Birmingham City University, University of Highlands and Islands, and University of Bradford, to create opportunities for knowledge exchange and collaboration in areas of mutual interest. The two entities will work closely to strengthen Karnataka's higher education ecosystem through key activities – Capacity building for faculty, Leadership development programme and Project Management training, in future enabling the state to enhance the delivery and international benchmarks in higher education.

The Operational Alliance Agreement (OAA) signed by Prof Gopalkrishna Joshi, Executive Director, Karnataka State Higher Education Council, Government of Karnataka, and Janaka Pushpanathan, Director South India, British Council, in the presence of Dr C N Ashwath Narayan, Minister of Higher Education, Information Technology - Biotechnology, Science and Technology, Government of Karnataka, will increase collaboration between the Karnataka and the UK to achieve progressive and positive outcomes as envisioned by the State Government for implementation of the National Education Policy 2020.

Prof Thimme Gowda, Vice Chairman, KSHEC, Shri Umashankar S R, Additional Chief Secretary to Government of Karnataka, Department of Higher Education, Chandru Iyer, British Deputy High Commissioner to Karnataka and Kerala and Rittika Chanda Parruck, Director Education India, British Council– were also present for the event.