University of Birmingham Chancellor leads largest-ever academic delegation to India

Whilst in India, our Chancellor Lord Bilimoria visited some of the University of Birmingham’s key research and education partners

Lord  Bilimoria and delegates in motorised transport

Lord Bilimoria is shown around Hindustan Petroleum Company Limited’s Green R&D Centre (HPGRDC)

Chancellor Lord Bilimoria of Chelsea has led the University of Birmingham’s largest-ever delegation of academics to India.

Whilst in India, Lord Bilimoria visited some of the University’s key partners - including Hindustan Petroleum Company Limited’s (HPCL) HPCL Green R&D Centre (HPGRDC), in Bengaluru. This followed the University of Birmingham and HPCL launching a partnership in February to develop and deliver a cutting-edge hydrogen dispensing system that could revolutionise India’s transport sector.

The Chancellor also met leaders at Government of India’s public policy think tank Niti Aayog to discuss the University’s engagements in India. Lord Bilimoria also addressed students at Atlas Skilltech University, in Mumbai – delivering a talk on entrepreneurship which drew on his own business experience.

This was a great opportunity for me to meet some of our key research and education partners and I was also delighted to meet hundreds of the bright minds who are considering joining the University of Birmingham.

Lord Bilimoria of Chelsea - Chancellor, University of Birmingham

Lord Bilimoria’s visit follows the recent launch of a new Joint Masters programme in Sustainable Energy Systems between the University of Birmingham and IIT Madras - building on last year’s launch of the partners’ first Joint Masters programme in Data Science and Artificial Intelligence.

Lord Bilimoria commented: “Leading the University of Birmingham delegation to India in May, which covered Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai, Mumbai and Pune, I was accompanied by 20 academics as well as the provost of the University of Birmingham Dubai.

“This was a great opportunity for me to meet some of our key research and education partners and I was also delighted to meet hundreds of the bright minds who are considering joining the University of Birmingham.

“Indian students occupy an important place in the University of Birmingham’s global student community and Britain is a great place to study - very much open for the business of learning. The graduate visa route continues to attract international students to the UK and to our top Russell Group Universities, such as Birmingham, ranked in the top 100 in the world, who are welcoming Indian students.

The University of Birmingham offers Indian students the benefit of a rich educational, social, and cultural experience – whether at our beautiful campus in Birmingham or our iconic new campus in Dubai.”

Leading academics from across the University met offer holders in Delhi, Chennai, Bengaluru, Mumbai, and Pune - giving students the opportunity to discover more about their future studies from a team of academic staff at the University.

Students also learned more about career opportunities after graduating from Birmingham, with members of the Careers Network team on hand to offer advice. Birmingham is the British university most targeted by the UK’s leading graduate employers according to ‘The Graduate Market in 2024’ compiled by High Fliers.

The University recently launched a range of substantial new scholarships for Indian students worth more than £1 million - in addition to existing scholarships for applicants from India. Students to the University’s Dubai campus can receive up to 40% scholarships – more information can be found at https://www.birmingham.ac.uk/

The University of Birmingham ranks 35th globally (out of 203 institutions) in THE Most International Universities in the World – universities with high proportion of international students and staff collaborating on international research with a strong global reputation to match.

Notes for editors

  • For more information, please contact the University of Birmingham press office or +44 (0)121 414 2772.
  • The University of Birmingham is ranked amongst the world’s top 100 institutions, its work brings people from across the world to Birmingham, including researchers and teachers and more than 8,000 international students from over 150 countries. Discover Birmingham.
  • The University established its India Institute in January 2018 – supporting its vision to forge meaningful education and research partnerships in India that demonstrate its commitment to the country as a strategic partner. The University is growing its permanent office in Delhi - a long-term investment reflecting the importance of its work in India.
  • The University is one of the UK’s most engaged partners in India – enjoying successful research and education partnerships in Delhi, Chennai, Pune, and Mumbai including: Indian Institute of Technology Madras; Indian Institute of Technology Delhi; Public Health Foundation of India, New Delhi; Sports Authority of India, Delhi; Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Pune; Indian Institute of Technology Mumbai; and Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai.
  • There are also clean cooling partnerships with state government in Haryana and Telangana and an upcoming AI partnership with the state government of Maharashtra, as well as surgical research with more than 100 hospitals encompassing a mix of urban and rural hospitals, teaching and district hospitals, plastic pollution in the River Ganga, and a railways research programme with Indian Railways.