‘ONLY CONNECT…’ - THE UNIVERSITY AND INDIA

When the Prime Minister recently visited India in an effort to develop deeper trading links with one of the fastest growing economies in the world, he announced what he hoped would be a new special relationship. The media reported a story of an emerging high-tech superpower, a preferred partner in a primarily economic alliance.

But headlines only ever tell one story, and India is a country of a billion narratives. According to a fellow Indian member of the Royal Society, it is a nation whose development ranges from the high-tech savvy of modern Germany to the agrarian lives of sub-Saharan Africa, and every shade between. Sometimes these two sit side by side. It is a place of breath-taking innovation and equally startling need for change. For every example it seems there is a counter example. As the veteran journalist Mark Tully wrote, 'there are no full stops in India'. There is always more.

This week I have had the opportunity to see and hear some of the stories for myself. I am visiting Delhi with a small party from the University, investigating opportunities for partnerships in areas of shared interest and strength, and hearing from our own graduates how they believe we should connect with a country that is experiencing rapid change, and which is sure to play a powerful role in the world for decades to come.

But this relationship is not new. The first Indian student came to the University in 1927, and today Indian students are amongst the most numerous of any of our overseas students. We also have almost 1,500 Indian graduates.

So how to begin to connect with such a vast and varied nation? I felt it was vital that, before we began making plans, we needed to learn; which is why I am writing this update from India's administrative capital of Delhi.

What we have found again and again are exceptionally capable people who are putting education and research to work for vital purposes. There is no question about the relevance of this work to people's lives, and the scale of the challenge is mind-blowing.

For example, at the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, the Secretary has the task of delivering 30,000 mega watts of renewable energy over the next four years - the equivalent of 30 nuclear power stations. He and his team have a plan to do this primarily through the use of wind and solar power at a scale which is both inspiring and practical.

At the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, we met scientists who bring together fundamental science, 100 research institutes and a focus on application that is aimed at helping 650 million Indian farmers to feed the nation, improve their own economic status and
well-being, and respond effectively to climate change and scarce resources.

And from IIT Madras, we met the entrepreneurial Director of the Healthcare Technology Innovation Centre, who is responding to a chronic lack of access to trained doctors and sonographers in rural areas with new approaches to delivering safe cataract operations, eye testing and analysis of blood flow related to cardiac disease. He does this work in a country where 200 million people still do not have access to eye care, and yet where 80% of eye disease is preventable if treated early.

The work we have seen is moving and remarkable, and the academic quality of the research from social sciences to biotechnology is superb. Again and again we see overlaps with our own strengths, particularly in areas that are near to application - energy, sustainability, Project Sunshine, adaptive technologies. These are some of the areas we wish to support at greater scale through our 2022 Futures work.

We also see a correlation of need. There are ways we are already working together. For example, Professor Sheila MacNeil's achievements in tissue engineering have led to the development of a new technique for delivering stem cell therapy to the eye, which it is hoped will help the natural repair of the eye damaged by accident and disease. The Sheffield team is already working with partners in India to develop this wonderful work.

But the benefits are two-way. World-class work on energy, bio-technology and health taking place in India could have vital relevance for us in the West. It may well be that a portable, comparatively inexpensive but effective healthcare device designed for an Indian village might one day find itself adapted for use in the NHS in the UK, as we meet the needs of a very different, ageing population.

What will follow this trip will take careful thought, but the possibilities are inspiring. We certainly see a huge potential for collaboration in the interface between engineering and medicine, sustainability and many other areas. There are also opportunities for The University of Sheffield to work with leading universities in offering shared programmes to students. We will be taking this forward over the coming months.

But most of all I have been struck by the resonance of our own desire - to put knowledge and teaching to the service of people, and to address important challenges with the deep sense of purpose - in those we have met; people who have continually impressed and inspired.

When we met with our Indian graduates, they told us how proud they were to be part of The University of Sheffield. They are already applying in India all they learned in Sheffield, and they see great potential for the links to strengthen. They are ready and willing to help make that happen. We are thinking about how to draw on their experiences and will introduce selected scholarships to be sure that the world's most outstanding students are able to develop their talents with us.

As we stress repeatedly, The University of Sheffield is, and must remain, an international community. This is our intellectual strength and part of how we learn. Any threat to this is a threat to our future and who we are.

The University began with the citizens of Sheffield and a promise to improve health, deliver education, strengthen the economy and enrich lives. Today our citizens are found in over 120 countries, but the shared purpose is remarkably the same. And we have found in India able, inspiring friends and partners, who will work with us to deliver this promise, not only in our own city but around the world.

Professor Sir Keith Burnett

22 March 2013