British Council’s Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical Mission visits Ahmedabad

Ahmedabad, 26 September 2013

British Council convened a Knowledge Mission (23 to 25 September 2013) in Biotechnology and Pharmaceuticals at Ahmedabad.

Under this Mission, academic delegates from seven UK universities (Brighton, Edinburgh Napier, Greenwich, Hull, Kingston, Nottingham Trent and Warwick) along with Mr Sunit Koli, Senior Project Manager (WI), BC-SIEM, British Council visited research plants and academic institutions specialising in Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology to get an idea about the work being carried out in these areas and discuss how best both countries can benefit from knowledge sharing.

The Mission is British Council’s effort to strengthen education and research ties between India and the UK. This Mission could lead to development of articulation and research links.

The program at each institution/plant was a combination of – presentations from both ends; visit to research laboratory facilities and discussion with the faculty/R & D Team

The UK Delegation comprised of –

1. Dr Ananth Pannala – University of Brighton

2. Dr Charlotte Chalmers – Edinburgh Napier University

3. Dr Daliya George – University of Greenwich

4. Dr Steve Archibald– University of Hull

5. Dr S Barton – Kingston University

6. Dr Shiva Sivasubramaniam– Nottingham Trent University

7. Dr Crawford Dow – University of Warwick

The local institutions which were part of this Mission were – PERD, Dishman Pharmaceuticals, Nirma University – Institute of Pharmacy, Gujarat State Biotechnology Mission, Claris Lifesciences and St Xavier’s College

The Mission could lead to twining programs at Bachelors/Masters level; Split PhD programs; Post Doc opportunities; joint research collaborations; employment for Indian students graduating from UK institutions at Indian pharmaceutical companies; tuition fee discounts etc

This sharing of information will be useful for both UK and Indian institutions leading to stronger future engagements.