Saturday, Oct 18, 2008
Conclave reflects close partnership between U.K. varsities and Anna University


Chennai: Firm scientific research collaboration between the U.K. and India is a key component of strengthening the bilateral relationship, Chris Gibson, Director, British Council, South India, said on Friday.


Launching a two-day seminar on ‘Biotechnology: U.K. and Indian Perspectives,’ jointly hosted by the British Council and the Centre for Biotechnology of Anna University, Chennai, Mr. Gibson said the U.K. had much to share with India in terms of ideas and research partnerships.

The U.K. Government invested millions of pounds in collaborative projects in science and research every year, he said. Science transcended geographical boundaries and it was important to foster cross-fertilisation of ideas, he said.

The biotechnology conclave was an annual landmark that reflected a close partnership between U.K. universities and Anna University, which was the oldest technical institution in India, and perhaps the world. The areas of collaboration ranged from English language to low-cost housing and printing technology.

The UK, which comprised hardly 1 per cent of the world population, contributed 5 per cent to global science, 9 per cent of all scientific papers and 12 per cent of scientific citations — second only to the U.S., Mr. Gibson said.

On the higher education front, the U.K. housed three of the world’s 10 best universities, eight of the top 50 in the world and four of the top institutions in Europe, Mr. Gibson said. That about 30,000 Indian students chose the U.K. as a higher learning destination last year was perhaps an indicator of the quality of university education in Britain, he said.

Over two days of the seminar, top British scientists would share their expertise with students in the frontier science of biotechnology that had the potential to revolutionise quality of life, Mr. Gibson said.

Mr. Gibson also urged the students to maximise the learning experience through interacting with faculty members. “The only stupid question is the one no one asks.”

Anna University Vice-Chancellor P. Mannar Jawahar said the university was a pioneer in biotechnology education and research. Several students of Anna University were engaged in research programmes in universities such as Cambridge, he said.

Kartar Singh, Deputy Director, British Council, South India, V. Ramamurthy, Dean, A.C. Tech, Anna University, P. Kaliraj, Director, Centre for Biotechnology and L. Dhanasekaran, Head, Education UK, British Council participated.

The faculty for the seminar features eminent scientists from universities such as Aberystwyth, Bath, East Anglia, Napier, Warwick and Westminster.

The topics include biotechnology, pharmaceutical technology, food technology, life sciences and biomedical sciences.