Aiming to collaborate with industry and academia alike while strengthening India-UK education relations, TC Global, a leading International Education platform for students and universities, concluded a week-long visit of the newly appointed Vice Chancellor of Loughborough University and formerly UK Government’s first Chief Scientific Advisor for National Security, Professor Nick Jennings. Loughborough University is ranked in the UK’s Top 10 Universities. Vice-Chancellor Professor Nick Jennings visited India as his first overseas delegation trip since taking on the VC post in Autumn 2021.
Professor Nick Jennings- Vice-Chancellor and President of Loughborough University
Prof. Jennings visited India and met with existing education, employer and research partners as well as evaluated opportunities to develop new avenues for collaboration with the likes of Bajaj Auto, IIT Delhi, IIT Mumbai and Symbiosis International University. Prof. Jennings along with the visiting contingent focused on gaining deeper understanding of the growth and potential for opportunities for partnerships, knowledge-sharing, research and alliance between Indian organisations and Loughborough.
Speaking about potential opportunities and the synergies between India and UK, Prof. Jennings said, “Loughborough has a long and proud history of welcoming students and faculty from India. In fact, our first Indian student graduated with us in 1937. Today we have a community of nearly 900 Indian students and in 2022 we saw over 600 new Indian enrolments. India has now overtaken China as our largest international student group across both our campuses for postgraduate studies. The graduate entry route has obviously supported this growth in the number of Indian students coming to the UK as a whole. It presents a fantastic opportunity not only for Indian students to gain valuable professional experience and exposure to different industries overseas, but also for UK businesses to benefit from the unique perspectives and attributes of Indian graduates. This talent pipeline is of vital importance in our globalised and interconnected world. The Indian students I have met, both here and in the UK, have been exceptional, they are passionate and committed not only to succeeding in their chosen careers but to making a difference. The latest data shows over 92,000 student visa were awarded to Indian students in 2022, this is a growth of more than 350% on 2019.”
India and the UK have close cultural and historic ties, in addition to the large Indian diaspora in the UK. Following Brexit and more recent geopolitical developments, now more than ever these deep links and the bilateral trade opportunities which flow from them, both new and existing, are crucial to the UK. UK companies and universities are looking to increase the breadth and depth of their collaborations with India. The Indian students coming to the UK are ambassadors for India that can provide a spark to support even closer ties.
“The world today has numerous shared challenges and the Indian government has set strong leadership and a clear vision in looking to address these challenges. This is where the UK can collaborate with Indian partners and industry, and provide Indian graduates with the further skills needed to make a difference to their country and society. Priorities include sustainability and net zero, the development of renewable energy technology and electric vehicles, smart manufacturing and the circular economy, and the application of AI, Big Data and cyber security to enable effective solutions. Loughborough and other UK universities have proven expertise in all these fields,” Prof. Jennings added.
Speaking about the collaboration between Loughborough University and TC Global, Shan Chopra, Chief Community Partner, said, “Loughborough University and TC Global have enjoyed a strategic engagement that has led to enormous growth for Loughborough’s brand and reach in India. Over 6,000 students discovered and shortlisted Loughborough as a university to apply to on the TC Global app in 2022 alone. Through our strong brand equity, platform and infrastructure in international education, TC Global has advanced Loughborough’s India strategy over the last 10 years and significantly scaled recruitment across a diverse set of courses over the last 6 years. Loughborough University and TC Global continue to strengthen our partnership and are aiming to support hundreds of students to accomplish their business, sports and engineering objectives at Loughborough University in 2023.”
