University of Manchester plans centre in Bengaluru to help Indian students find jobs in India

The University of Manchester will soon open its new centre for the first time in India, in Bengaluru. The centre is expected to facilitate opportunities for students to study at its campus in the U.K. and also help Indian students studying there to seek job opportunities and internships, said Duncan Ivison, Vice-Chancellor, University of Manchester.

Speaking to The Hindu on Friday, Prof. Ivison, who was in the city, said, “The proposed centre will facilitate the academic journey of aspiring Indian students to study at the University of Manchester. Our aim is to also help those who are currently pursuing higher education at our university find jobs and internships back in India. This centre will help create those connections with industry partners, various educational institutions and government agencies.”

He added, “We also aim to connect students aspiring to become entrepreneurs with people who can fund their startups.”

While noting that the university has centres in China, Singapore, Dubai, and Hong Kong, Prof. Ivison said, “Our recent meetings with alumni in Delhi, Bengaluru, and Mumbai have been fruitful. I have been taking insights from them to understand the job scenario and industry demands in India.”

He said there are 50,000 students at their campus, and about one-third of them already have some form of work experience or internship, or are doing entrepreneurial activity.

Besides the international centre, the varsity is also planning to establish a museum in Bengaluru. Prof. Ivison said, “The aim of this museum is to combine Art, Culture, and STEM education to introduce it to students, researchers, and people. I believe that art and culture of one society can help us find answers to the most complicated problems apart from Science and Technology. For this, we are working with the Science Gallery in Bengaluru.”

Recently, the University’s Manchester Museum signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the gallery.

Popular programmes among Indian students in UK

Prof. Ivison said engineering, computer science and business studies are still popular programmes among Indian students at the university, followed by programmes in social sciences and humanities.

The University of Manchester also has a close relationship with the Indian Institute of Science (IISc). He said, “We offer a joint PhD programme with them which has 15 PhD students from India and Manchester working together on various research projects involving AI, clean energy, quantum technology, life sciences, translating discoveries in life sciences into solutions that can help cure cancer, healthy ageing and more.”