Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan met with a high-level delegation from Johns Hopkins University (JHU) on Sunday, during which both sides explored the potential for establishing an offshore campus of the prestigious US university in India.
The 12-member delegation was led by JHU’s president, Ronald J Daniels. The delegation also included officials from the Gupta-Klinsky India Institute (GKII), an internal unit of JHU aimed at fostering collaboration between the JHU community and Indian partners through research, education, policy, and practice.
Discussions centered on strengthening academic and research collaborations between JHU, a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, and premier Indian higher education institutions (HEIs).
Pradhan emphasized the potential for collaborations to foster innovation and entrepreneurship among students in both nations, the education ministry stated in a press release.
Higher Education Secretary K Sanjay Murthy, along with senior officials from the Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education, and Ministry of External Affairs, attended the meeting.
“Pradhan highlighted the transformative opportunities enabled by the National Education Policy 2020 (NEP 2020), which has paved the way for academic collaborations and the advancement of India’s education sector,” the education ministry said in a statement.
Pradhan also appreciated JHU’s commitment to building robust partnerships with Indian HEIs, contributing to the global exchange of knowledge, particularly in areas such as dual and joint degree programs, two-way mobility of students and faculty, and research partnerships in emerging fields like data science, artificial intelligence, and futuristic technologies.
“He emphasized the potential for these collaborations to foster innovation and entrepreneurship among students in both nations. The delegation actively discussed the establishment of an offshore JHU campus in India,” the ministry informed.
The ministry asserted that the visit by Daniels and the delegation highlights the growing significance of India-US educational cooperation.
As part of their multi-city tour of India, the delegation will visit various Indian university campuses and engage with key government officials and academic leaders.
(With ANI input)