The present system of higher education does not serve the purpose for which it has been started. Higher education is implicated in all the changes related to globalization. The purpose of globalization and global education is to develop a ‘global perspective’ and sensitize the youth for understanding the multicultural world and maintaining peace and harmony in the world. The expanding middle class present a huge target audience whose need for quality education remains unfulfilled. There is a need to provide globalised education to Indian youths to expose them to different education systems making them adaptable and employable to work in different countries. Foreign universities will play a bigger role in India’s higher education by opening their campuses, promoting online education, research partnerships and individual and joint degree partnerships.

This Initiative aims to strengthen collaboration and build partnerships between Indian and Foreign institutions of higher education. The aim of this program is to promote mutual understanding, encouraging educational reform and economic growth, and developing junior faculty at Foreign and Indian institutions of higher learning.

The IIK Programme aims to support Indian institutions/universities in improving their engineering education and research output through strengthening industry and foreign university linkages and leveraging Foreign Professors. The programme is based upon the premise that increased linkages between industry and higher education can improve quality and foster innovation with in pedagogy and practice of engineering, in turn enhancing employability of graduates and encouraging technology transfer into industry.

Our overall objective for the Programme is to strengthen the capacity of Indian engineering higher education and research institutions to carry out research and knowledge-related activities through partnership with Indian and Foreign university/institution stakeholders. This program is aimed primarily at Tier 2 and 3 educational institutions in India to help improve their engineering teaching and research capability.

We will support proposals that fit with one or more of the Higher Education Programs identified outcome areas:

• Enhanced industry for foreign university input into engineering curricula and educational practice within Indian universities to improve uptake of practical engineering skills and enhance graduate employability;


• Enhanced capacity of engineering educators within Indian universities to teach course content and use novel pedagogical methods to upskill graduates;


• Strengthened collaboration in collaborative research and knowledge-sharing between Indian university and foreign university or industry and with counterparts in/ from the other country;


• Building of working, mutually-beneficial models of cooperation between the universities of both countries; and


• Improved capacity of Indian institutions to learn from their experiences and to share lessons with others.