Tuesday, 9 August 2016

Trivandrum: The British Council today welcomed 46 graduates from the UK to study at the University of Kerala, Trivandrum for a unique learning experience as part of the Study in India programme. As part of the British Council’s Generation UK-India programme, the students will attend a two week course on ‘Contemporary India: Society and Culture’ which will be led by some of Kerala’s finest professors and will give students an insight into different aspects of Indian lifestyle, including history, values and multiculturalism.

Set on the beautiful Malabar coast, the University campus will host these students during the programme and offer an opportunity to engage and live among other local students. With an aim to offer a real taste of Indian student life, the programme will include a daily routine of morning yoga followed by interactive lectures for the UK graduates. Lectures on contemporary themes such as social values, law and modern philosophy will give students a unique insight into Indian lifestyle.

The students will also take Malayalam language lessons, be a part of various cultural activities and undertake some exciting excursions to educational sites. These will include local religious sites, the world famous Keralite backwaters and Kanyakumari – the southernmost point of the Indian subcontinent. 
 

“It was a great honour to join the Honourable Chief Minister in addressing almost fifty young people from the UK attending Kerala University through the Generation UK programme. We hope the young people will be inspired by India and inspire the students, faculty and Keralans they meet.” said Alan Gemmell OBE, Director, British Council India.

“I’m proud to be part of this ground breaking programme which will see young British students learn from India and their Indian counterparts. These people to people links are vital to building an even stronger UK-India relationship in their 21st century”, said Bharat Joshi, British Deputy High Commissioner, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

This course is one of the eleven courses being offered by nine different Indian institutions as part of this year’s British Council Generation UK-India programme. Now into its second year, the programme, aims to promote intercultural exchange and build engagement and trust between the two countries. Following a successful first year which saw over 500 young people and professionals take part in placements in India, the programme continues to grow in the second year. New partners such as Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and KPMG will offer internships, teaching assistantships and study placements in India. They will also support UK institutions to send students to Indian universities on individual placements. Over the next four years, the programme hopes to create a significant increase in mobility between the UK and India.

Notes to Editor

Generation UK-India programme

Generation UK-India is a programme that aims to build collaboration, engagement and trust between the UK and India. The British Council is working with partners to support young people and professionals from the UK to gain experience in India by 2020.  This programme:

• promotes India as a destination to gain study and work experience

• offers mutually beneficial placements that will give young people from the UK the chance to develop employability skills and support the internationalisation of Indian companies and academic institutions

• creates links that will be the basis for future collaboration

• builds a network of talented and ambitious young people from the UK who will form a future workforce ready to work with India and Indian companies

The programme has supported 500 placements in India so far. Teaching assistants have inspired school pupils across the country whilst on our cultural immersion placements, students, graduates and entrepreneurs have gained a deeper understanding of Indian society, education, technology and economy. As part of this programme, British Council offers offered reflection sessions for UK university groups visiting the country.

Study in India programme

300 students will be offered placements in 9 Indian universities to study 11 short courses ranging from international relations, social entrepreneurship and gender politics to yoga and cinema. These programmes will run for a period of two months in July and August.

About the British Council

The British Council is recognised across India for its network of 9 libraries and cultural centres. We offer a range of specialised projects in arts, education, exams, English language and society to audiences across India and more than 100,000 members. We also provide access to English language training and learning for both students and teachers, offer UK qualifications in India and enable opportunities to study in the UK.
We also manage prestigious scholarships and training awards, including the Jubilee scholarships, the Commonwealth Scholarship and Fellowship Plan and the Charles Wallace India Trust awards. Our English language centres in Chennai, Delhi and Kolkata provide a range of general and business English classes, specialised skills based programmes and young learner courses. We work with a wide range of Indian partners in cities all over India enabling British and Indian experts to meet and collaborate and to nurture mutually beneficial relationships.
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