Dutch research universities to seek partnership with India

By IANS

New Delhi : A Dutch delegation, comprising top scientists and university presidents, will be arriving in India on a seven-day visit, starting March 8, to strengthen scientific cooperation in education and research.


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Sijbolt Noorda, president of the Association of Universities in the Netherlands (VSNU), would be heading the delegation.

VSNU represents 14 Dutch research based universities in the fields of research, education, knowledge transfer, funding, personnel policy and international affairs.

“While economic ties between both countries have been strengthened in the last decade, there is room for new and more intense forms of cooperation in higher education and research,” said Noorda, who is also the former president of the University of Amsterdam.

“I see possibilities for partnerships in many fields, including vaccine development, biotechnology, hydrology and social economic development,” he said.

Members from technological and comprehensive universities will be part of the delegation, apart from the government and academics, said a statement issued by the VSNU.

The universities have also put forward a substantial number of paid positions and scholarships for Ph.D students from India.

The Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research, the national funding council, is also in favour of further bilateral collaboration and will launch a programme to support new initiatives, it said.

“They will join the mission to identify areas of scientific cooperation and seek possible partners,” the statement said.

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