SILCHAR, July 24 � In a bid to augment mutual understanding and enhance political, cultural, educational, and economic links of India with the European Union (EU), Assam University here has joined the EU in a project called NAMASTE � Networking and Mobility Actions for Sustainable Technology and Environment in India.
Assam University will feature in the project along with 20 other institutions of higher education in the country. The project is aimed at developing the bilateral cooperation in education and research between the EU and India.
The NAMASTE project has two-fold objectives. First, it will look to facilitate new collaborations between higher education institutions (HEIs) from India, including some of the universities from the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme (BRGF) areas. Second, it aims to reinforce existing collaborations in India through the promotion of partnerships and institutional cooperation exchanges between EU HEIs and Indian HEIs.
The joint endeavour will not only help foster a better understanding of strategic partnership development but also cultivate mutually beneficial relationships between the EU HEIs and Indian HEIs in the field of higher education by promoting the exchange of people, knowledge and skills at higher learning institutions. The project will establish an innovative framework for capacity development of junior faculty staff, undergraduates, postgraduates, PhD and post-doc researchers through training and upgrading their skills in specified fields of study.
Sharing his reaction on this collaboration, Assam University vice chancellor Prof Somnath Dasgupta told The Assam Tribune: �We got the confirmation news of the venture and now are preparing with our proposals. I am hopeful we will be ready by September.�
The NAMASTE consortium consists of 20 HEIs � eight from EU countries (Belgium, Germany, Spain, The Netherlands, Sweden, Poland, Italy and the United Kingdom) and 12 from India, out of which 25 per cent are from the BRGF region of India.
IISER-Pune will be the coordination unit for the Indian partners linking with EU partners in the consortium and beyond. The project builds on existing research and environments, picking the best from each to build up excellent exchange and cooperation. Altogether, the consortium will implement 139 mobility flows from India to the EU partner institutions. The implementation of individual mobilities, with an emphasis on research initiatives, will provide Indian students more with options and opportunities to study at various EU institutions.
The sustainability of the results and the dissemination of the expertise gained by the long-term cooperation between the European and the Indian partners will surface new collaborative research initiatives. Further, dissemination and promotion of the project will be done strategically to attract talented Indian students (at the master and PhD level). As future leaders in their community, they can advocate for better academic leadership and good governance in their respective countries.
