Our India Day celebrations are well underway, with our India Centre officially declared open following an ancient Indian tradition of lighting a lamp to symbolise the future and prosperity.
Winnie Eley, VP (International), opened the proceedings with a short introduction to the day and a look at our international partnerships. She said:
“In the 21st century, no university can claim to be global without engaging India. India has about one-fifth of the world’s population and its population is on a growth trajectory. Southampton has welcomed scholars and students from India for decades. The launch of the India Centre is our first institutional endeavour to harness the knowledge base at Southampton in order to create meaningful and longstanding partnerships with our collaborators, both existing and new, in India”.
Professor Jane Falkingham spoke about our University’s rich history and our global connections. In just one example, she mentioned how we are working with Bihar, one of the poorest states in India, to help bring them out of poverty and to ensure that there is a strong future in place for its citizens.
Jane said:
“We are not beginning from a standing start, we are already running. We’re now working to bring all of these ventures together with our new India Centre.”
She continued by noting the aim of our India Centre: to raise our visibility and our reputation in India, and to build on the relationships that have already begun to be established.
His Excellency Mr Charanjeet Singh, Honourable Deputy High Commissioner of India to the UK backed Jane’s words, stating that the framework for the collaboration with India is already in place and that he will leave no stone unturned in his endeavour to help build even stronger foundations.
A teacher in his previous life, Mr Singh spoke about the significant place in his heart for teaching and education:
“You can always count on me as there’s a part of me that will always be a teacher. I always found in my students both my past and my future”.
He rounded off his speech by stating that the India Centre is a very special contribution to bringing our two countries together and that it will only grow our already strong relationship.
Check SUSSED over the next few days as we will be sharing a gallery of images from the daytime talks, as well as further details from the soundbites of the afternoon. We’ll also share images and videos from the exciting evening performances.
Don’t forget to join the conversation using #UoSIndiaDay throughout the daytime and evening events.
