Bengaluru, Karnataka: The University of Edinburgh is intensifying its longstanding ties with India by opening a new liaison office in Mumbai. The office, which officially opens today (14 February), will simplify communication and collaboration between the University and partners in Indian education, business and government.

By working with Indian partners within India, the University’s presence in Mumbai will also impact on wider society, helping to tackle a range of pressing concerns such as environmental challenges, economic development and health issues. In addition, the University is launching a new course that trains students to aid in India’s development, supported by a new programme of scholarships dedicated to students from India who are studying for an Edinburgh masters degree.

Professor Sir Timothy O’Shea, Principal of the University of Edinburgh, said: “I am proud to announce the opening of this India office. Our efforts show that the University of Edinburgh is committed to working with Indian partners and institutions.

“Our partnerships with India will help us not only to further education across the world, but also to jointly pursue solutions to serious problems facing us all – such as climate change, improving global health, and economic development.”

To coincide with the official opening, Roger Jeffery, the University’s Professor of Sociology of South Asia, will deliver a public lecture at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in Delhi, at the School of Social Sciences committee room, titled “Indian pharmaceuticals in the post-WTO world”.

These activities mark the beginning of a series of collaborative events for the University that will take place in India in 2011. These include the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with JNU on future co-operation in areas including social sciences, life sciences, and arts and aesthetics, as well as public lectures later this week on climate change and health in Mumbai and Bangalore.

Meanwhile, students are being recruited for the University of Edinburgh’s Masters programme on South Asia and International Development, which will start in September. Applications for the new course are already being invited.

The course will prepare students to work in development-linked areas in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka. It will focus on issues such as the gap between rich and poor in the rapidly developing region and the impact of history on South Asian development.

Professor Roger Jeffery said: “South Asia’s development is one of the world’s most important political, economic and social issues, posing important practical challenges to the future lives of millions.

“This new programme places South Asian development in the proper context and equips people to work in international development and play an active role in understanding and assisting in shaping the region’s future.”

In addition, the University has made 15 scholarships – called the Principal’s Indian Masters Scholarships – available in 2011-2012 to students from India for masters-level study in any subject. Each scholarship will have a value of £3,000, which will be tenable for one academic year.

The University has a long tradition of teaching and scholarship relating to India. Former Edinburgh figures include William Robertson, who wrote one of the earliest European texts on Indian commerce and culture, and Victor Kiernan, known for his translations of the poetry of Faiz Ahmed Faiz and Mohammed Iqbal.

The University is also home to the Centre for South Asian Studies, the principal academic unit in Scotland dedicated to the study of the Indian subcontinent. The Centre has links with the Scottish Parliament, non-governmental organisations and major educational and cultural groups in South Asia and Scotland.

More information on the Masters programme on South Asia and International Development course can be found at: http://www.sps.ed.ac.uk/gradschool/taught_masters/o_z/msc_south_asia_international_development

For further information on the Principal’s Indian Masters Scholarships, please see: www.ed.ac.uk/student-funding/masters-india