Following on from India’s Higher Education Department Secretary, R P Agarwal’s, two-day visit to Canada, discussion of a research partnership between the two countries is now under exploration by higher education officials.

According to a report in the Hindustan Times, the collaboration will explore “innovative ways of partnership in higher education including different academic exchange programmes and research collaborations at [an] advanced level”.

During his Canada visit, Agarwal met with top Canadian officials from the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade and the Department of Human Resources and Skills Development to discuss the possible collaboration. The feasibility of a group of Canadian universities monitoring new Indian higher education institutions was one of the topics discussed, as was Agarwal’s high regard for the work of the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC).

Talks of a partnership between the countries first emerged in April, with a press release from the AUCC stating, “AUCC believes the planned discussions towards the economic partnership with India represent a platform upon which Canada can pursue a constructive dialogue with our Indian counterparts in higher education to increase cooperation between Canadian and Indian universities and ultimately contribute to the prosperity of both countries”.