Pune institutes angle for foreign tie-ups

In anticipation of the approval of the Foreign Education Providers (FEPs) Bill by the Parliament some time next year, some of the institutes in Pune are now scouting around for collaborative ventures with reputed colleges and universities in the United States and elsewhere. The bill would enable the FEPs to make an official entry into India either on their own or through partnership with Indian universities and institutes of higher learning.

One of the institutes that have been working on the possibility of such a joint venture is the Symbiosis International University (SIU) that is aiming for a tie-up with the Harvard Medical School for establishing a centre of excellence in minimally invasive surgery at its upcoming Rs 150 crore MediCity project on SIU’s integrated campus at Lavle near the city. “We will soon move a formal proposal seeking the tie-up with the HMS,” said SIU Principal Director Vidya Yeravdekar.

It is also believed that the Pune-based I Square IT and the Center for Bits and Atoms (CBA) at the Massacheusettes Institute of Technology (MIT), US have agreed in principle to set up a joint project in the field of high-end computing. This would primarily be for interactive laboratory framework. According to Dr Vijay Bhatkar, Chief Mentor, I Square IT, the process for a formal agreement with the CBA was being launched soon.

He said,
 

“The advances in IT and internet make it imperative for us to look out for creation of next generation super computing structures. These structures ought to be way different from what we have today.”
 

Both Bhatkar and Yeravdekar were part of the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FICCI) delegation that accompanied HRD minister Kapil Sibal on a visit to world-renowned US varsities including MIT, Harvard, Yale, Dukes and Georgetown in the second week of November. The delegation comprised vice chancellors and representatives of India’s leading universities and institutes of higher learning including Manipal University, Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani and Delhi Technological University, among others.

However, while India may welcome foreign institutions with open arms, the reverse may not be true, as the University of Pune (UoP) found to its embarrassment. An ambitious plan of the UoP to set up an offshore campus in Dubai has come a cropper. The Knowledge and Human Development Authority (KHDA), Dubai’s apex licensing and regulatory authority for education, has rejected OuP’s detailed proposal. According to an explanation forwarded to the media by the KHDA, UoP’s bouquet of study programmes doesn’t offer novelty, nor is it in alignment with the diverse areas highlighted in the Dubai Strategic Plan (DSP)-2015.

DSP-2015, which was unveiled on February 3, 2007 by the UAE Prime Minister, Vice President and ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, road maps a strategic plan to develop the Emirate’s most dynamic economic sectors. The plan’s objective is to sustain real economic growth at 11 per cent per annum, to expand GDP to $108 billion (Rs 4,91,288 crore) by 2015, and to increase real per capita GDP to $44,000 per year. The education sector is a key focus area of DSP-2015. The rejection of UoP’s proposal forwarded for KHDA’s approval in early 2008 has come as a blow to the university which had been working on it for over a year.

The objective was to set up the campus in partnership with the Dubai-based Edulink Services, an academic infrastructure provider. The plea before the KHDA was for an academic license to enable UoP to run its programmes and a commercial license for Edulink Services. According to KHDA’s Chief of Licensing and Customer Relations, Mohammad Darwish, Dubai needs higher education institutions which can focus on the needs of learners and address the requirements in the workforce of the Emirates. But he stated that the UoP courses are a ‘duplication of those already in existence’.