British Council, Telangana sign MoU for research, innovation

The British Council and the Telangana government on Wednesday signed an MoU to facilitate greater research and innovation in aerospace, defence, life sciences and pharma, food and agriculture, and sustainability.

With this MoU, the two sides renewed their partnership in the area of education, English and Arts aimed at creating global opportunities for the youth of Telangana.

Under the MoU between the UK's international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural exchange and the Research and Innovation Circle of Hyderabad (RICH), both the organisations will work closely to engineer new partnerships between universities, research institutions and centres of excellence in the UK and in Telangana.

The British Council will be the key knowledge partner of RICH to facilitate partnerships between RICH and UK higher education institution (HEIs).

The two partners will also partake in joint innovation or entrepreneurship initiatives, like sharing of best practices and development of bespoke courses to develop relevant skills amidst the young people of Telangana.

The agreement was signed in the presence of Principal Secretary, Industries and Commerce, Information Technology, Electronics and Communication Jayesh Ranjan, RICH Director General Ajit Rangnekar, British Deputy High Commissioner to Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, Andrew Fleming, and Director, British Council, South India, Janaka Pushpanathan.

While the British Council and the Telangana State Council of Higher Education (TSCHE) have been partnering for the past decade, an MoU was signed between the British Council and the state government in 2018 to reinforce mutual commitment to strengthen education and cultural cooperation. Subsequently, an MoU was signed between the British Council and the TSCHE in 2020 to work on various educational projects such as the revision of the curriculum for arts and commerce institutions, with the intent of enhancing the employability rates of the youth and ensuring that the curriculum aligned to industry expectations.

Jayesh Ranjan said that Telangana is India's youngest state, but is also the most advanced and progressive. "Internationalisation is in Telangana's DNA. Our vision for the state of Telangana is to be full of opportunities for its youth - students, professionals, entrepreneurs, artists, scholars and researchers." Pushpanathan observed that the new three-year MoU is a testament to the deepening of partnership between the progressive state of Telangana, and the UK and its devolved governments.