I was born in Birmingham in the UK. My family lived in the heart of one of England's most multicultural cities, where you could buy curry on one street and then chips on the other. To a young child, it was a bewildering mix of cultures, tastes and outlooks. But it was also a time of huge opportunity.
Access to primary and secondary education in England is both compulsory and free for all. And at the time I was growing up, university education was something that we could all aspire to. It was no longer the preserve of a privileged few. This has driven a transformation in the way that the British see education. It no longer produces scholars for a life of academia, but has become attuned to the country's economic aspirations.
One of the results is that Britain is embracing what it calls “life-long learning”. You got a degree for your first career, so when you change, why not get another degree and learn new skills that will fit you for a second and third career The flexibility inherent in this has made UK education and its providers world class. If a country has something that is world class, it is ripe for sharing with others.
So as India begins to develop its economy and embrace its latent promise, there is a huge demand for quality education and skill development that the UK is uniquely able to provide. The country already has many great universities and a culture that respects learning. The country's higher education system is one of the world's largest, enrolling nearly 22 million students in more than 46,000 institutions.
There is more to this success story than there might seem. India needs to create space for an extra ten million students in five years. Given the demands of sluggish economic growth, it is in dire need of able graduates. And the most able graduates will only come from research universities that have global status. This is where the close ties between India and the UK can play a vital role, as India adopts policies to allow foreign universities to set up campuses in the country, there is already scope within the UK India Education and Research Initiative for some genuinely innovative solutions to India's immediate need for the brightest and the best. The Department for International Development spends more than £70 million each year on education in India. A strategic partnership of seven of the UK's research councils, known as Research Councils UK, works with Indian funding agencies to deliver co-funded research partnerships. It addresses itself to the high priority areas of engineering and physical sciences as well as the arts and humanities.
Now that the bridge has been built and the links have been established, we need to drive this collaboration forward. There is a need for environments in which innovative ideas can flourish, and I firmly believe that initiatives such as the Education Investment Conclave, which seeks to unite Indian and UK providers along with investors and senior political figures from both countries can help drive this forward.
For me education and skills development furthers two causes that are at the heart of all my thinking -social justice and poverty alleviation. We need to give people from all backgrounds the opportunities that previous generations missed out on, as I saw myself when I was growing up. That's why I am particularly pleased that through this issue of our India Investment Journal we are supporting SEWA Day, an international volunteering charity whose mission includes helps to alleviate poverty and hardship, and to bring a little joy in local communities.
We at India Inc, along with our partners, have had the opportunity to publish this special Education Investment publication which we see as the first step towards closer cooperation and creating a forum in which the very best thinking and innovative solutions can be aired and argued over. We have also launched an education section on www.indiaincorporated.com where you can find more articles that continue to explore some of the most contentious issues. Whether your taste extends to korma or something more prosaic, I look forward to engaging with you.
Manoj Ladwa is the publisher of India Inc and chief executive of MLS Chase.
The above article was published in India Inc′s Print edition of India Investment Journal launched on October 2013 in conjunction with Education Investment Conclave.
Click here to view photos of Education Investment Conclave 2013 Click here to read the quotes from India Education Investment Conclave Participants