As Penn seeks to increase its presence abroad, India has emerged as a growing frontier for global partnerships.
Associate Provost for Education Andrew Binns met with India’s Education Minister Kapil Sibal and several other American universities in Washington, D.C., last Friday. Binns described the meeting as a “brainstorming session” for increasing U.S. involvement in Indian higher education.
The Department of Education hosted the roundtable discussion with Sibal, who envisions collaborating with American universities as India attempts to increase its number of students enrolled in college from 10 million to 75 million within 10 years.
“We didn’t talk about specific programs,” Binns said of the one-and-a-half-hour meeting. “Everything was left on the table.”
However, he added that the minister plans to open 14 new Indian universities, as well as amend current laws which make it difficult for foreign universities to operate in India.
The minster’s visit coincided with Yale University’s announcement of plans to increase its involvement in India. Yale President Richard Levin is meeting with leaders in India this week, according to The Yale Daily News.
Penn President Amy Gutmann said in a statement that Penn will continue to explore how the University can benefit from cooperation with higher education in India.
“We are working to develop a strategy to further leverage our resources for the greatest impact,” she said.
Anne Waters, executive director of the Office of International Programs, said universities’ interests in India relate to the dramatic changes in the Indian economy.
“There is a high demand for a supply of college-educated [Indian] workers,” she said.
Waters said the next steps in building Penn’s relationship with India include identifying research areas of mutual interest, connecting with alumni in India and encouraging more undergraduates to study abroad in India.
Gutmann said Penn has a “long tradition” of educating students from India.
“We have close to a thousand alumni in India who are active and proud of their Penn connection,” she said.
Although the Washington meeting was intended for broad discussion of future collaboration, Binns said Penn has several existing partnerships in India.
For example, Wharton Vice Dean for Global Initiatives Harbir Singh said Wharton has had an extended presence in the country.
Ten years ago Wharton faculty helped found the Indian School of Business, which now graduates about 500 MBA students per year, he said.
He added that Wharton will send a group of faculty to India this summer as well as begin a healthcare management course taught by a Wharton professor at ISB.
Eileen Sullivan-Marx, Associate Professor of Nursing, said the School of Nursing hopes to facilitate health care in rural areas by developing clinics in southern India.
She said she plans to have graduate students and seniors working in the clinics this summer, but calls the effort a “work in progress.”
Sullivan-Marx also said case studies from the India clinics will be analyzed in sophomore Nursing classes at Penn.
Waters, who has studied India extensively as a Fulbright scholar, said the country provides a unique experience for research within the world’s largest democracy.
“India as a country is more diverse than Europe,” she said.
Waters emphasized that, unlike some other Asian countries, India guarantees academic freedom, calling it a “fertile ground for research.”
Like Waters, Binns described India as a “critical” relationship for Penn and part of the University’s overall goal of global integration.
“We see in our newspapers everyday how events in our world are important to our daily existence,” he said.
