A team from Salford Business School, is travelling to Bangalore which is known as the Silicon Valley of India. Bangalore is the centre of digital innovation in India and this month we will take the next step to building better relationships in its tech and education sectors. India is seen as a key market due to ambitious plans by the Indian Government for 30% of its young people to go on to higher education by 2020.
Along with my fellow colleague Simon Ireland – International Partnerships & Business Coordinator, we will visit Bangalore on 24th May for a week.
Bangalore is well known as the Silicon Valley of India, due to its concentration of technology companies. We plan to tap into the expertise in the region, as well as assess how the University of Salford and its graduates can contribute and show Indian students interested in completing a degree in the UK, what Salford has to offer.
Sharing educational excellence
Thanks to my students, I am a recent winner of the Salford Student teaching award for “Innovative Academic Practice” and this trip is also important to allow the exchange of ideas and to discuss partnerships on innovative practice in education including MOOC’s. We have had some great success in this area with projects like our Joint European Masters in Search and Social Media Marketing MOOC project.
Our team from Salford will be visiting several strategic partners including the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB), one of the top management schools in India, Alliance University, the British Council Bangalore and several young technology companies. We will also attend a recruitment fair, The World Grad School Tour on 29 May at the Vivanta by Taj hotel in Bangalore. We are also hoping to meet football and social media fans as part of our ongoing research in this area.
Building skills for a digital career
Salford is building up a reputation in the UK as being a forward thinking institution which produces graduates who are skilled in digital technologies. We want to collaborate more with Universities and companies in India and take the message that if you study with Salford, you will be in a great place to start a rewarding career in the digital sector. We will also discuss joint research, teaching and enterprise projects including our growing strength in distance and flexible learning.
Our links with industry are important to us and benefit our graduates when they go out into the real world of work. While in India, we hope to create new partnerships and strengthen existing ties with some key partners. Salford has a lot to offer students who may want to come over to the UK to study or gain a qualification through a more flexible programme of study. Our world class facility at MediaCityUK also offers students incredible opportunities.
Our international employability results show clearly that our graduates have a lot to offer potential employers in a global employment context. This trip will forge links with both prospective students and their potential employers.
Bangalore Silicon Valley of India
Bangalore Silicon Valley fo India (CC) by Vivek Thakyal
Gill Colgan, Deputy Director of International Development, at The University of Salford said:
“By 2020 India will outpace China as the country with the largest tertiary age population. The Indian government is committed to increasing the national HE enrolment rate from its current level of 18% to 30% by this date. This can only be achieved through the development of creative and productive partnerships with international HE partners and Salford is keen to be part of Indian HE expansion.
Bangalore is a renowned centre for digital business and Salford’s teaching and research in this field is well respected both nationally and internationally. We will be following up this visit with high level engagement events in Karnataka and Maharashtra in July 2016.”
The trip will provide an opportunity to raise awareness of Salford’s unique approach to partnering with industry in the development and delivery of its programmes. This comes through its Industry Collaboration Zones (ICZs), which act as a focus for collaboration within the University and with partners in the four key sectors of digital, sport, engineering and health. The University of Salford aims to transform lives and stimulate discovery in these key areas.
If you wish to discuss our growing links with Bangalore and India, please contact Alex Fenton by e-mail: a.fenton@salford.ac.uk