Aiming at deepening the academic and cultural ties between India and the UAE, an agreement was signed under which faculty members from Indian universities will spend six to 10 months every year for undertaking research and teaching social sciences in Abu Dhabi. The agreement between Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) and New York University Abu Dhabi to establish a Visiting Professorship in Social Science at NYUAD was signed here on Thursday.
While ICCR is a state-run institution to foster cultural relations and strengthen mutual understanding between India and other countries, NYUAD is a portal campus of New York University serving as a private liberal arts college in Abu Dhabi. Through the partnership, NYUAD and ICCR will collaboratively appoint faculty members from Indian universities to the ICCR Visiting Professorship. The visiting faculty member will spend between six to 10 months undertaking research and teaching in the Division of Social Sciences at NYUAD, according to a joint press release issued by the Indian Embassy in Abu Dhabi and the NYUAD.
“The agreement aims to promote broader engagement with India, a country that is strategically significant to the UAE. Indians represent the largest expatriate population in the UAE and India is one of the UAE’s largest trade partners,” it said. India’s Ambassador to the UAE, Pavan Kapoor, who signed the agreement on behalf of the ICCR, said it is the first such one signed between the ICCR and a Foreign University in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
GCC is a regional, intergovernmental political and economic bloc that consists of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Describing the initiative as “special” as it coincides with the celebration of 75 years of India’s independence and the golden jubilee of the founding of the UAE, Kapoor said the agreement will “contribute to strengthening India-UAE relations”.
NYUAD Vice Chancellor Mariet Westermann, who signed the agreement on behalf of the university, said, NYUAD already enjoys close educational and cultural ties with India, and we are delighted to enhance the relationship through this visiting professorship.” Meanwhile, ICCR Director-General Dinesh Patnaik said the partnership will help students develop a rich cross-cultural understanding and learn about the history, geography, philosophy, languages, art and heritage of each other’s countries.
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