The Hindu Business Line : Cornell varsity looks for Indian tie-ups

Cornell University of the US, which has longstanding associations with various Indian institutes of higher education research, has initiated an effort to make its presence more visible in India.

As part of this effort, the university will talk to its alumni here and take their help in building the network.

"We will keep in touch with them and keep them informed about what is happening. We will take their help," Dr David J. Skorton, President of the university, told Business Line.

By making Cornell's presence more visible, the university wants to foster closer links with local institutes of higher education, research bodies and local government agencies.

Dr Skorton headed a high-level team from the university to New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Hyderabad early this month. The eight-day visit was aimed at exploring opportunities for forging collaborations in the areas of nano technology, healthcare, information technology and rural development.

The Cornell team's itinerary also included meetings with the President, Mr A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh. The team also met Mr Ratan Tata, an alumnus of Cornell and Chairman of the Tata group, and Mr N.R. Narayana Murthy, Infosys Chief Mentor. Both are trustees of the university. "We are here to see about possibilities of more higher education exchanges between Cornell and Indian institutes of higher education," Mr Skorton said.

At present, the university, in association with Sathguru Management Consultants, and four agriculture universities, has been organising student exchange programme. Dr Skorton addressed a group of students from the Indian and US universities at the International Crops Research Institute for Semi Arid Tropics, before the team went on field visits to get an exposure to the agricultural processes.

In order to further strengthen its association with India, it has decided to send a team again in the next few months to formalise the ideas generated during this visit.

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