Daniels to encourage partnerships, stronger ties during trip to India

October 22, 2015  


WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue University President Mitch Daniels on Oct. 28 will begin a three-day trip to India to encourage collaborative research and partnerships and stronger ties with alumni and to pave the way for more internship and engagement opportunities for Purdue students - including the nearly 1,700 Indian students who are currently studying at Purdue.

Daniels and Suresh Garimella, Purdue executive vice president for research and partnerships and Goodson Distinguished Professor of Mechanical Engineering, will visit with institutional and corporate partners in an ongoing effort to make a global impact with research and educational engagement. Mary Dennis, vice president for international alumni programs in the Purdue Alumni Association, and Cheryl Altinkemer, associate vice president of advancement for the Purdue Research Foundation, will accompany Daniels and Garimella in India.

"Purdue has longstanding, close relationships with India that include research partnerships with Indian educational institutions," Daniels said. "We want to work with India on addressing 21st century grand challenges like food security, climate change, smart cities, breakthrough manufacturing and inclusive entrepreneurship. These issues require pioneering research, and the Purdue-India relationship can help provide solutions."

There are 1,681 students from India currently enrolled at Purdue, a 15 percent increase over last year, and thousands of Purdue alumni currently live in India. The university has the second-largest international student population among U.S. public universities, according to the latest Open Doors report, published by the Institute of International Education. Students from India comprise the second-largest international student population at Purdue.

Purdue is the number one STEM school for international students, according to a U.S. government report earlier this year. Purdue has 7,111 international students in the STEM fields, according to the report released by the Student and Exchange Visitor Program.

In Mumbai on Oct. 28, Daniels and Garimella will both speak at an alumni event, and Daniels will moderate an alumni panel discussion. Participants are Habil Khorakiwala, founder chairman & group CEO of Wockhardt Limited, who earned a master's degree in pharmacy from Purdue in 1966 and received an honorary doctorate in 2010; Ritu Nanda, partner in the Alok Nanda Co., master's degree in agriculture from Purdue in 1985; and G V Sanjay Reddy, vice chairman of GVK Industries, who received his bachelor's degree in industrial engineering from Purdue in 1987.

On Oct. 30 at the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry in New Delhi, Daniels will participate in a panel discussion, "Reimagining the Future." Moderated by Garimella, and with closing remarks by Richard Verma, U.S. ambassador to India, the panel also will include Manju Sharma, distinguished women's scientist chair of the National Academy of Sciences India and former secretary of the Department of Biotechnology in India, who received an honorary doctorate of science from Purdue in 2012; Anupam Jalote, CEO of GreenOil Energy Sciences, who received his master's degree in business administration from Purdue in 2002; and Rubina Mittal, co-chair of the education committee of the PHD Chamber.

Daniels will participate in an Oct. 30 alumni reception and dinner in New Delhi. The Purdue Alumni Association will host the alumni events.  During the visit, Daniels will announce a newly established Purdue-India Executive Council of leading Indian alumni who will serve as an advisory board to Purdue on its strategic engagement with the country.

During his trip to India in November 2014, Daniels met with several university and corporate partners, signed a partnership agreement with the Indian Institute of Technology Madras, announced a Purdue Alumni Network in the country and an India-Purdue Collaborative Lecture Series.

The lecture series is a partnership with Chintamani Nagesa Ramachandra (C.N.R.) Rao, chairman of the Scientific Advisory Council to India's prime minister, who received his doctorate in chemistry from Purdue in 1958. He and R. Graham Cooks, Purdue's Henry Bohn Hass Distinguished Professor of Chemistry, spoke at the inaugural lecture series in January 2015. President Daniels will announce the next speaker during his visit.

Purdue currently has several partnerships involving engineering, agriculture, business, science, technology, pharmacy, veterinary medicine and liberal arts with other institutions in India.

In July, Purdue signed a strategic partnership memorandum of understanding with Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Limited, with headquarters in Hyderabad, India, to strengthen pharmaceutical research and development. Dr. Reddy's Laboratories is a global pharmaceutical company that makes products across major therapeutic areas, offering more than 200 generic versions of medicines in 26 countries. 

Writer: Greg McClure, 765-496-9711, gmcclure@purdue.edu

Sources: Mitch Daniels, president@purdue.edu

Suresh Garimella, sureshg@purdue.edu  

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