Photo by: Kennymatic (Flickr Creative Commons)

A delegation of 16 university presidents from across Canada visited India in November 2010 in an effort to foster academic cooperation between the two countries.

Meeting their Indian counterparts in New Delhi, Canadian educators pledged investments worth almost CAD million in collaborative education projects with India, including fellowships for Indian students to study in Canada.

Education collaborations

Currently, Canada only attracts about 2,800 Indian students to its campuses, far less than countries such as the United States and Australia…

In meetings with their Indian counterparts, Canadian educators signed six agreements which includes a new partnership between the University of Ontario Institute of Technology and the Amal Jyothi College of Engineering, Kerala to jointly offer a Bachelor of Applied Science in Nuclear Power degree and the renewal of a long-standing agreement between the University of British Columbia and IIT Delhi involving undergraduate student exchange.

Canadian science and technology minister Gary Goodyear, who attended the meeting with his Indian counterpart Kapil Sibal, said, “Canada is becoming a destination of choice for international research talent. We will continue to vigorously pursue the tremendous opportunities for scientists and businesses to conduct research and invest in innovation in Canada.”

Speaking on the occasion, Sibal underlined the importance of technology solutions which are affordable for the common man. He hoped that the collaboration between the Canadian and Indian universities would help this goal.

51 scholarships for Indian students

"This mission is a way for us to get to know India and its needs more deeply - and to make sure that when Indians think of research and higher education, they think of us," said AUCC president Paul Davidson…

Canada's top eight universities - McMaster University, Simon Fraser University, The University of British Columbia, University of Ottawa, University of Toronto, University of Victoria, University of Waterloo and The University of Western Ontario - will provide up to 51 scholarships valued at more than 3.5 million Canadian dollars for Indian students.

Currently, Canada only attracts about 2,800 Indian students to its campuses, far less than countries such as the United States and Australia that are also aggressively pursuing the Indian market.

"This mission is a way for us to get to know India and its needs more deeply - and to make sure that when Indians think of research and higher education, they think of us," said Association of Universities and Colleges in Canada president Paul Davidson before the mission's departure from India.

University of British Columbia president Stephen Toope announces $4 million CDN in scholarships

Minister Kapil Sibal addresses Canadian universities