01 Apr 2013|Noida | Amity University Campus, Sector-125 Noida
“UK and India need to work together in the area of economic empowerment of women” avers Commonwealth Parliamentary Association delegation from UK during its visit to Amity
A high power Commonwealth Parliamentary Association delegation led by Mr. Alun Cairns- MP (Conservative), UK along with 7 MPs of UK visited Amity University Campus, Sector- 125, Noida to understand the challenges faced by India specially in the field of education and interact with Amity students on the current issues that are concerning them regarding Indo-British relations.
The delegation comprised of Baroness Buscombe- Conservative Member, House of Lords, Mr. Jonathan Simon Djanogly- MP (Conservative) for Huntingdon, Baroness Gale- Labour Party Member of the House of Lords, Ms. Diana Ruth Johnson-British Labour Party Politician, Ms. Mary Macleod- British Conservative Party Politician, Ms. Seema Malhotra- MP, Labour and Baron Rana- British Politician and Member, House of Lords.
The delegation was welcomed by Dr. B Shukla- Acting Pro- Vice Chancellor, Amity University who enumerated the collaboration and strategic alliances Amity University has with UK and its educational institutions in the form of joint research, student and faculty exchange programmes. She also shared the grand expansion plans that the management of Amity University has for UK.
Sharing his views, Mr. Alun Cairns- MP (Conservative), UK dwelt on the wide ranging agenda of the visit of the Parliamentarians of UK to India and Amity University, which he emphasized, is to forge closer social, economic and trade ties with India by collaborative projects and initiatives. He applauded Amity University for the kind of in-depth research that is going on in Amity University in cutting edge areas like Bio- technology, Nanotechnology etc.
During the visit, Dr. Ashok K Chauhan- Founder President, Amity University proposed to launch Commonwealth Association in Amity University on the lines of the Common Wealth Associations which are a regular feature of UK educational institutions and colleges. The Association will facilitate regular exchange of ideas between the key stakeholders from UK and Amity University and will work towards promoting the long term sustainable Indo- UK relationships.
The enthusiastic students from Faculty of Management Studies, Amity University posed numerous questions to the distinguished members of UK Parliament.
On being asked about the proposed cancellation of Post Study Work (PSW) Permit by UK Government as a move to flourish UK economy at the cost of Indian economy, Mr. Jonathan Simon Djanogly- MP (Conservative) for Huntingdon replied that the move is aimed at checking the fake cases wherein immigrants enter UK to work under the guise of student visas. UK Government does not want to restrict the entry of genuine students seeking education in UK.
Baron Rana added that immigration is a serious political debate in UK and the Government is mulling over the option of excluding students going to UK, seeking education from the category of “Immigrants”. The Prime Minister, himself, has invited more students from India and there has been no ceiling of the number of students from India to UK. He further stressed that UK is a developed economy whereas India is still developing but UK has 5% of Indian population, which provides huge opportunity for UK to help India grow and prosper.
Sharing her concern, Ms. Mary Macleod- British Conservative Party Politician talked about the much needed economic empowerment of women in UK and across the Globe including India citing that there are only 22% of women in UK Parliament and there is an urgent need to encourage women in UK to set up their own businesses, which will add immensely to the UK economy.
Baroness Buscombe- Conservative Member, House of Lords expressed that educational institutions in UK are very competitive and there is a huge pressure on the education sector in UK since capacity of educational institutions is constantly growing and more and more institutions want to collaborate on global platform. The real challenge is to remain competitive and collaborate with the best institutions for mutual growth and development.
During the interaction, the senior officials, Scientists, Researchers and Directors of Amity University proposed several ways to deepen Indo- UK ties through joint projects aiming at frugal innovations leading to inclusive growth, Joint Exchange Programmes of faculty and students and mutual development of business plans through Incubators. India looks up to the growth trajectory of UK which has been a cradle of Science and Technology for years.