Union Minister for Education Shri Dharmendra Pradhan met with a high-level delegation led by Mr. Ronald J. Daniels, President of Johns Hopkins University (JHU), Baltimore, USA. The delegation included officials from the Gupta Klinsky India Institute (GKII), a JHU initiative focused on fostering collaboration between the university and Indian partners through research, education, policy, and practice. Senior officials from the Ministry of Education, Ministry of External Affairs, and the Department of Higher Education, including Secretary Shri K. Sanjay Murthy, also attended the meeting.
During the interaction, Shri Pradhan highlighted the transformative potential of the National Education Policy 2020 (NEP 2020), which facilitates international academic collaborations and positions India as a global education hub. He commended JHU’s commitment to forging robust partnerships with Indian Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), emphasizing initiatives such as dual and joint degree programs, enhanced student and faculty mobility, and research collaborations in cutting-edge fields like data science, artificial intelligence, and futuristic technologies. Shri Pradhan noted the scope for these partnerships to foster innovation and entrepreneurship among students in both nations.
The discussions focused on strengthening academic and research ties between JHU and premier Indian HEIs, with particular attention to the prospect of establishing an offshore JHU campus in India. The visit by Mr. Daniels underscores the growing importance of India-US educational cooperation, as the delegation engages with Indian university campuses, government officials, and academic leaders during their multi-city tour of India to enhance JHU’s operations and internationalisation efforts.
The 12-member delegation comprised eminent academicians and administrators, including Alexander Triantis, Dean of the Carey Business School, Judd Walson, Chair of the Department of International Health at the Bloomberg School, and Amita Gupta, Director of the Division of Infectious Diseases and Co-Founder of GKII. Prominent Indian-origin faculty from JHU, such as Mathuram Santosham and Chirag Parikh, also participated, along with GKII advisory board members. This meeting marks a significant step in advancing collaborative education and research endeavors between India and JHU.