All strands of the initiative are being supported by policy dialogue on key issues of relevance to both countries. The dialogue aims to engage key sector stakeholders in the initiative and ensure that respective international educational policies are harmonised to best effect.
UKIERI has created opportunities for policy discussions in free-standing events, bi-lateral exchanges such as UK-India Roundtable and UK-India Joint Science and Innovation Council.
The three key policy dialogues held under UKIERI are listed below:
> Widening Access and Social Inclusion in Higher Education in the UK and India Policy Dialogue Workshop, March 2007 - Kolkata, India
To explore the challenge of maximising the collaborative opportunities thrown up by the internationalisation of education, more than 60 delegates from universities and research centres across the UK and India converged in Kolkata to brainstorm ways to widen access and improve greater social inclusion in higher education.
> Collaborative Delivery of Higher Education Programmes in India: UK and India Achieving Best Practice, March 2007 - Hyderabad, India
To assist UK and India higher education institutions build a strong base for new partnerships, UKIERI organised a workshop which was attended by 80 delegates across India and the UK.
> UKIERI Higher Education Policy Dialogue, March 2008 - Chennai, India
The 3rd UKIERI Higher Education Policy Dialogue held in Chennai brought together representatives from the UK, India, Australia and New Zealand to share their knowledge and experience in quality assurance in higher education. Indian regulatory authorities like UGC, NAAC and AICTE also participated along with 90 delegates. The recommendations from the conference helped set up a multilateral working group which will address the concerns of a transnational quality assurance policy.
Possible areas for further dialogue include:
- Quality Assurance mechanisms
- Teaching and Learning methodologies
- Joint recognition of professional, technical and other qualifications
- Future directions in the financing of higher education provision
- UK-EU and India relationships
