Scottish, Indian Universities Partner for Research and Innovation

Scottish Development International, the international arm of the Scottish Government and its enterprise agencies, today announced two strategic tie-ups between Scottish and Indian Universities, post the recently concluded Scottish trade delegation visit to India. Rooma Kumar Bussi, Country Manager for Scottish Development International, announced the signing of agreements between University of Dundee & Bangalore BioCluster and Scottish Association for Marine Science & AMET University, respectively, for research in Life Sciences and Marine Biotechnology.

University of Dundee signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Bangalore BioCluster to create a joint Drug Discovery Centre to tackle antimicrobial resistance. Currently, there is an active programme of scientific collaboration between University of Dundee and Bangalore BioCluster. The Drug Discovery Centre will focus on effective prevention and treatment of the ever-increasing range of infections caused by bacteria, parasites, viruses and fungi, hospital-acquired infections and in major diseases such as tuberculosis and malaria.

Professor Mike Ferguson, Regius Professor of Life Sciences at the University of Dundee, said, “We are proud to be partnering with the Bangalore BioCluster in antimicrobial drug discovery. BioCluster is a powerhouse of Life Sciences research and we look forward to applying our combined expertise to one of the most important of medical dilemmas – antimicrobial resistance.”

During their recent visit to India the Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS) exchanged Memoranda of Understanding with Annamalai University and AMET University to cooperate more closely in education and research.

SAMS, a partner of the University of the Highlands and Islands and of the United Nations University, has partnered with the aim to develop faculty, student and knowledge exchange programmes, co-supervised PhDs, and joint research projects. With Annamalai University SAMS’ collaboration will focus on developing knowledge and skills for sustainable management of the coastal environment, which will include topics such as aquaculture. With AMET University the focus of collaboration will lie in marine biotechnology and microbiology.

Joanne Allday, Marketing Manager, Education at The Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS), said, “It’s such an exciting time in India right now and our late Professor, Laurence Mee, saw huge potential for closer scientific and educational relationships between the two countries. The MoUs between SAMS and Annamalai and AMET Universities have now been formally exchanged and are a great legacy to Laurence’s foresight. We have already begun the exchange of information and knowledge, and funding is now being sought to support faculty and student exchanges, to develop long-lasting relationships for the future.”

Rooma Kumar Bussi, Country Manager, Scottish Development International, said, “India and Scotland share a unique focus on education, research and innovation to build solutions that impact human lives. It is, therefore, only natural that we come together on collaborative projects such as the ones above that address India’s critical needs in health, life sciences and biotechnology. These partnerships are also testimony to the strong business ties between India and Scotland and I am sure that over time these will grow into sustained partnerships”. Rooma added, “Scottish Association for Marine Science was part of the cross-sector delegation which I led across Bangalore, Hyderabad and Delhi, to meet over 100 Indian companies in October 2014.”