Though there are many common interests and a high degree of compatibility in business and people-to-people ties between the United States and India, none is more important and exciting than the co-operation the countries can have in the area of education, Consul General Andrew T. Simkin, United States Consulate, Chennai, said here on Saturday.
Speaking to graduates receiving the combined programme of PSG Institute of Management (PSG IM), and The University of Toledo (UT), Ohio, the U.S., at PSG College of Technology, he said the governments of both the countries were committed to collaborate in the area of education through increased exchanges and enhancing the role of private players to carry it to new levels.
“Both President Obama and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh have termed education as one of the defining relationships of the 21st century between the two countries, a corner stone in its strategic partnership,” Mr. Simkin said.
Institutions were playing a leading role in bringing India and the United States closer, especially in education. With rapid growth in population and development, there was a need to constantly improve higher education in India.
“At one point of time there were only a handful of top-ranking institutions in the U.S. But when it experienced a strong economic growth after the Second World War, it went through a transformation process and now we have more than 4,800 such institutions which caters to more than 19 million students,” the Consul General said.
The strength of these institutions could be measured in more ways than one. It had more than $ 49 billion spent in research. Many institutions took lead in academic inquiry. “I see a similar process going on in India now. This process can be accelerated by international partnerships.”
Enrichment
When the component of cultural exchange was infused in the partnerships in the form of fellowships and student-faculty exchanges, then it added a whole new dimension of enrichment in the educational experience, Mr. Simkin said.
With nearly half-a-billion Indians under the age of 25, the challenge of educating all of them could be realised only through partnerships and the willingness of the educated Indians to give back to society.
Mayor of Toledo City Michael P. Bell said it was essential to possess the right personality to be gainfully employed.
Dean of the College of Business and Innovation of UT Thomas Gutteridge said the partnering institutions believed in preparing students for a global economy.
Managing Trustee of PSG Institutions G. Rangaswamy administered the oath. UT president Lloyd A. Jacobs, and Director of PSG IM R. Nandagopal, offered felicitations.