University of Virginia, OP Jindal ink pact for greater student engagement

The University of Virginia has signed an agreement with OP Jindal Global University to enable greater student engagement and research opportunities across all its schools and programmes, a media release said Thursday.

"The country is the world's biggest democracy with a population bigger than the US, Europe and Latin America combined," UVA's Vice Provost for Global Affairs Stephen Mull said. India has brilliant students, scholars and entrepreneurs who want to partner on some of the world's biggest challenges, he added.

Mull is also speaking at QS-organized India Summit in Goa on Education for Life, a media release said. Part of a larger India Initiative at UVA, the MoU will help both universities to combine research, learning, and engagement and bring together faculty, students, and alumni, the media release said. A UVA delegation will visit JGU campus on February 23 to build on this relationship, it added.

JGU Vice Chancellor Raj Kumar said, "The partnership will provide transformative prospects of higher education and learning to students in both the universities and enable our faculty members to pursue joint teaching and collaborative research with a view to advancing the cause of international education and institution building".

Since 2019, the number of new Indian graduate and professional students studying in the United States has skyrocketed by 430 per cent, clearly indicating vast potential for higher Indian enrolments at UVA, Mull said.The University of Virginia is one top ranked public University in the US, founded by Thomas Jefferson, the 3rd President of the United States.