Education Related News

On 20 December 2011, the University of Gothenburg signed an agreement for the Establishment of a Short-Term Chair in Indian Studies (ICCR Chair professorship) at the university. From the Indian side the agreement was signed by H.E. Ashok Sajjanhar, Ambassador of India to Sweden and Latvia, who was present at the official ceremony inaugurated by Prof. Pam Fredman, Vice Chancellor of the University of Gothenburg. During the official ceremony, presentations were delivered also by Professor Claes Alvstam who is an advisor to the Vice-Chancellor on International Affairs; Professor Åke Sander, as well as Dr. Clemens Cavallin from the Department of Literature from the History of Ideas and Religion at the University of Gothenburg. They stressed the importance of the Gothenburg India Academic Network – GAIN for further develepment of collaboration in the areas of education and research.
More information about the new ICCR professorship (in Swedish only).

Uppsala University and Stockholm University are also in the process of signing similar agreements for visiting ICCR Chair professorships. Lund University was the first Swedish university to finalize such an agreement, with the active support by SASNET, already in 2010. LU is currently hosting the second visiting professor within the scope of this collaboration – Professor Gopal Karanth from the Indian Institute for Economic and Social Change in Bangalore. Read more.

Since 2008, the South Asia Institute at University of Heidelberg, Germany, runs an interdisciplinary Master's programme entitled ”Health and Society in South Asia” (MAHASSA). The programme is a taught, two-year interdisciplinary degree with a focus on Medical Anthropology and South Asian Studies. It is intended for students who plan to work (or already work) in health-related fields but also for those who wish to pursue an academic career. The programme is administered by the Dept. of Anthropology at the South Asia Institute, specializing in Medical Anthropology, with various staff members conducting research on ritual healing, folk medicine, South Indian medicine, health and environment, Ayurveda, Tibetan Medicine, gender and health, women's reproductive health and Islam, and other topics. In the first semester, students are introduced to the main theories and research themes in the field of Medical Anthropology as well as to the major medical traditions and current health issues in South Asia. In the second semester all students are obliged to learn one South Asian language, and also receive training in research methods and presentation skills. The third semester is used for the extensive preparation of a practical field experience or a work placement, which will form the basis for the Master's thesis, which will be prepared and written over the fourth semester. 

Admissions for the next program starting in October 2012 is now open and applications should have reached the University before 15 June 2012. More information. 
Read more about other courses in Europe and the Nordic countries on South Asia.

Learning Diversity in India: Do Priorities in Primary Education Enable Capabilities, Enhance Equal Opportunities and Encourage Cultural Diversity?. Written by Martin Eksath, MSc from the Dept. of Sociology, Lund University, currently working with the Swedish School Inspectorate with quality assessement, project management and social outcomes.
The author is an educationalist with a strong belief in diversity as a necissitate for a vivid democracy. He has a strong  interest in the priorities of education in India.
India is sometimes described as a democracy forged together with a strong sense of unity in its diversity. Simultaneously, the possibility of real democracy in a country marked with social inequality, depths of poverty and low rates of literacy could be questioned. This book relates to the focal point where education, democracy, development and politics team up in educational policies and reforms. India has subscribed to the goals of education for all by 2015 and has embarked on immense priorities in education to reach the goals. However, goals are often measured in rather narrow terms of outcomes of literacy or school attendance. But what is the relevance of education and the meaning of school attendance if it does not furnish for essential capabilities to cope with life? Without doubt, primary education of good quality is necessitous to development, democracy and social inclusion. By the use of a mixed methods design, this book explores and reflects upon the initiatives taken in primary education and discusses whether they have the potential to enable capabilities, enhance equal opportunities and encourage cultural diversity among the children in India.

On 22 November 2011, the India-EU Study Centres Programme (IESCP) will have a final conference in New Delhi, where outcomes and achievements gained during its 43 months of existence will be presented. IESCP was set up by the European Commission in 2008 as an integral part of the India-EU Joint Action Plan adopted in 2005. Its aim was to promote a better understanding of the EU in India and vice versa through academic and other forms of collaboration, and its chief objective both to strengthen existing study centres and establish new ones focusing on EU studies in India as well as on contemporary Indian studies in Europe. More information about IESCP.

The current Centres on EU Studies are found at the following Indian universities:

– SP Jain Institute of Management & Research (SPJIMR), Mumbai
– Pondicherry University
– Symbiosis International, Pune
– University of Delhi
– Mangalore University
– Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IITM), Chennai
– Manonmaniam Sundaranar University, Tirunelveli
– University of Rajasthan
– Manipal University
– Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Delhi

The current Centres on Contemporary India Studies are found at the following European universities:

– Aarhus University, Denmark
– Leiden University, The Netherlands
– Hochschule Bremen University of Applied Sciences, Germany
– University of Milan, Italy
– University of Warsaw, Poland

At the New Delhi conference will also be discussed how networking could be continued among the universities involved once the IESCP programme is over. See the tentative conference programme.