Leicester comes to India – leading UK University to unveil global ambitions in Hyderabad
A leading UK university with strong links to India will unveil its vision to expand its global impact, at an event in Hyderabad, on 17 and 18 March.
University of Leicester’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Nishan Canagarajah, will attend a Higher Education forum with leading universities and colleges in Hyderabad to take the Top 30* UK Higher Education institution’s partnership with India to its next level.
He will also reaffirm the University’s commitment to the subcontinent during his visit, which will also see Prof Canagarajah travel to Delhi to meet with Higher Education partners.
Leicester enjoys strong links with India – it has one of Britain’s highest proportions of South Asians, a vast majority of them of Indian heritage, who make up 22 per cent of the city’s overall population.
Just under 2,000 students from India were studying at the University in 2022, while the institution has 3,287 of graduates from the subcontinent. These graduates have gone on to successful careers in roles as diverse as data analysts, engineering managers, chief executive officers, professors and art curators.
The University is developing a new internationalisation strategy which will set the University of Leicester’s fresh strategic direction and roadmap for international engagement up to 2031.
Professor Canagarajah said: “Leicester is a home from home for thousands of staff and students from India and of Indian heritage. We are located in the UK’s foremost superdiverse city, renowned for its inclusivity and diversity.
“We are enriched by our Indian heritage and the purpose of this mission is to galvanise our links and create partnerships with purpose that bring benefits to communities in both countries. I am tremendously excited by this new beginning in our India odyssey.”
Improving global healthcare – centre to open in Nepal
Prof Canagarajah’s visit comes ahead of the launch of a University of Leicester-led global health research project, which is set to improve healthcare in the subcontinent.
The £10 million project, led by Prof Kamlesh Kunti will be launched in Nepal, in April this year.
Funding from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) will allow the University of Leicester and the Public Health Foundation of India, Delhi, to collaborate with the All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS), Jodhpur, Health Related Information Dissemination Amongst Youth (HRIDAY), Delhi, and Kathmandu Medical College (KMC), Kathmandu, to establish the NIHR Global Health Research Centre for Multiple Long-Term Conditions.
The five-year project to improve the care outcomes of people living with multiple long-term health conditions or multimorbidity was kickstarted in India, in December 2022.
The launch in Nepal will mark the beginning of the first stage of the research implementation where the researchers will review existing evidence, generate new data as required and talk to people living with these conditions to identify the best care approach for people with multimorbidity.
In addition, using the concepts of ‘co-design and community engagement/involvement’ they will conduct studies to assess what type of integrated, technology-enabled, patient-centred, high impact, equitable health system intervention designs could most benefit individuals with two or more long-term conditions.
In the long-term, the University will work with the UK, Indian and Nepal governments to improve the health outcomes of those with multimorbidity, as well as create a self-sustaining international centre for improving management of multiple long-term conditions and disseminate outputs globally.