Founding VC of O P Jindal Global University Raj Kumar wins Education Leaders Award

Academician and Founding Vice Chancellor of O P Jindal Global University (JGU) C Raj Kumar has been felicitated with the Global Education Leaders Award for his contributions to research, innovation and institution building in higher education at the India-UAE Partnership Summit 2018 in Dubai.

Kumar was felicitated by UAE Cabinet Minister of Tolerance Sheikh Nahayan Mabarak Al Nahayan and Navdeep Suri, Ambassador of India to the UAE.

Kumar, who is a Rhodes scholar and an alumnus of the Oxford and Harvard University, said: "I am truly humbled that the exemplary achievements of JGU have been truly recognised in the international arena. I have received this award on behalf of the faculty, students and staff of JGU as it is they who have enabled us to reach where we are today."

He also addressed the summit on three different thematic sessions.

At the two-day summit, attended by over 400 delegates from the academia of India and UAE, Kumar highlighted the expansion of the Indian higher education sector and how it is being developed through critical initiatives that focus on providing autonomy to universities.

"India is a young nation that has a significant demographic dividend and is now empowering its universities to build a knowledge society," he said.

He also said that there was enormous potential for partnerships between UAE and India in the areas of research, student and faculty mobility, dual degree programmes, and immersion programmes in both countries.

"The Indian diaspora in the UAE can play a significant role in leading these efforts to build strong and substantive partnerships between universities in India and the UAE,” Kumar said.

He said that Indian universities need to focus on critical aspects such as recruiting and retaining faculty, producing world-class research, building partnerships and collaborations among leading universities around the world.

(With inputs from agencies.)