Australia-India Institute launched
Julia Gillard, Australian Education Minister.
The newly launched Australia-India
Institute, to be located at the University
of Melbourne, will help Indian
students and researchers gain deep insight
into Australian education sector
apart from giving an opportunity to
them to take research in identified areas.
Australia's Deputy Prime Minister
and Education Minister Julia Gillard
launched the institute recently and announced
$8.106 million (Rs. 32 crore)
funding for it.
The University of Melbourne and its
university partners in Australia, the
University of New South Wales and La
Trobe University, will invest another
$2 million (Rs8 crore) in the Institute,
bringing the total investment in the
project to more than $10 million (Rs40
crore) over the next three years.
The three universities bring to the
Institute strong partnerships with
leading Indian universities and research
centres that will be crucial for
the delivery of the Institute's
programmes.
The Institute will support research,
graduate training, executive briefings
and policy advice for the benefit of both
countries. It will also provide consultancies
on issues of national priority,
and host international conferences,
community engagement and cultural
dialogues.
According to Ms. Gillard several areas
of priority research of interest to
both countries have been identified and
these include environment, issues of
food and water security, resources and
climate change, public health and biopharmaceutics,
regional relationships
through trade, investment, diplomacy
and policy and education.
Joint workshops, involving researchers
and policy makers, are already
scheduled to initiate the
Institute's programmes for water security
under climate change and for
cooperation in public health.
The Institute will support Australia's
need to continue, and indeed, strengthen
its engagement with India
through research, professional links
and cooperation.
Students, staff and the Australian
community will gain a greater understanding
of India and the rich bilateral
relationship between our two countries,
she said.
R. RAVIKANTH REDDY
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