Recent strategic collaborations between India and the UK - the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), the India UK Vision 2035 and the Programme of Cultural Cooperation signed between our two countries - have further cemented the long-standing bilateral partnership in higher education, research and innovation.
Building on this strong foundation, the British Council is convening a strategic dialogue bringing together policymakers, higher education leaders, research organisations and industry partners in West Bengal. The dialogue will provide a platform to identify shared priorities, explore new opportunities for collaboration, and strengthen partnerships across higher education, research, innovation, and transnational education.
The engagement will also consider how British Council programmes, networks, and global partnerships responds to national, state and institutional ambitions and contribute to the long-term goals of the UK–India Vision 2035 partnership.
Roundtables and consultations are taking place across cities in key states across India, i.e., Mumbai, Chandigarh and Kolkata.
The HE Connect roundtable brought together vice chancellors, internationalisation leaders, research leaders, government representatives, and policy stakeholders from leading institutions across West India, North India and East India region. The discussion revealed strong appetite for deeper India-UK engagement, particularly in research collaboration, transnational education, student mobility, and industry-academia partnerships.
The roundtable took place against a backdrop of:
• Six years of implementation of India's National Education Policy (NEP).
• Growing interest in internationalisation across Indian universities.
• The India-UK Vision 2035 agenda.
• Expansion of UK transnational education and branch campus models in India.
Participants acknowledged that international engagement is becoming increasingly important not only for student recruitment but also for research excellence, innovation ecosystems, and institutional reputation.