“Indian  and Scottish institutions have valuable knowledge and expertise, so both countries stand to benefit from the collaboration that will result from this agreement,”said Michael Russell, Scottish Minister for Culture, External Affairs and the Constitution (right).

Knowledge exchange
Under the agreement, Universities Scotland and the AIU will facilitate knowledge exchange and sharing of best practice between institutions, promote student and faculty exchanges, and drive collaboration in R&D.

The two forums will encourage joint degree development and help identify opportunities for enhanced funding to support institutional initiatives and drive advocacy in areas of mutual interest.

“With a world-class educational system, Scotland is actively seeking to support the growth of the Indian education sector, enhancing research and development capabilities to boost sustainable economic growth,” Russell said.

Setting a deadline for the various activities under the MoU, Beena Shah, (left) AIU Secretary-General, said that identification of themes and constitution of thematic groups will be completed by December this year.

Projects for collaboration will be identified between January and  April 2010 and project implementation will be done May 2010 onwards.

The MoU was facilitated by Scottish Development International (SDI), Scotland’s international development agency. To further develop the relationship between Scotland and India, SDI will lead its first education mission to India in November when a list of Indian universities will be drawn up for collaborative projects with Scottish universities.

Sgurr Energy a Scottish specialist renewable energy company, has already opened its office in Pune. The Scottish Government has ambitions to become the green energy capital of Europe and has a target for 50% electricity demand to come from renewables by 2020. As a result, the sector in Scotland is dynamic in terms of innovation, development and diversification—critical elements for growth of India's energy sector.

Russell also announced an application round for Scotland’s Saltire Scholarships— the scheme offering students from India, Canada, China, and the US, an opportunity to study at postgraduate masters level in Scotland.

The year 2009 marked the first year of the scheme which offers 200 awards of £2,000 towards successful applicants’ course fees. Under the scheme, 50 Indian students are now studying for Masters degree at a Scottish university.

Scotland has world class universities with 14 universities, six other higher education institutions and 43 higher and further education colleges. Four Scottish universities rank in the world’s top 200 and almost 50% of Scottish university research departments have been recognised for international excellence. With around 8%  of the UK’s population, Scottish universities attract around 13% of all Indian students studying in the United Kingdom.