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University of Arizona and Amrita University of India Partner for Education and Research

  • 12/18/19

KOLLAM, India – In their endeavor to offer globally relevant world-class programs across a broad spectrum of disciplines, Amrita University and the University of Arizona in Tucson AZ, are embarking on a multidisciplinary partnership in education and research.

In one of the largest ever international university collaborations in India, a Letter of Intent (LoI) was signed recently by the chancellor of Amrita University, Sri Mata Amritanandamayi Devi, and Dr. Lisel Folks, provost and vice president of Academic Affairs, University of Arizona.

The LoI seeks to initiate multidisciplinary collaborations for the highest standard curriculums leading to integrated and dual-degree programs at the bachelor's and master's levels. The key disciplines include Engineering, Biotechnology, Nanotechnology, Social Sciences, Medicine, Public Health, and Agriculture. The program will enhance Amrita as the study-abroad site for the University of Arizona students and vice versa. This will engage more than 200 students annually for a minimum of one semester.

Dr. Lisel Folks, provost and vice president of Academic Affairs at the University of Arizona, says: "The University of Arizona shares Amrita's commitment to enriching life for all, its dedication to innovation, and its spirit of compassion. We look forward to working together across multiple disciplines to expand human potential and to care for the world around us."

The LoI will also lay the foundation for exchange programs for faculty and students — undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral; collaborative partnership and participation in Amrita's multidisciplinary experiential learning program in rural India, Live-in-Labs®; joint research projects; and joint research centers in strategic areas relevant to universities. This collaboration is intended to develop and implement an accessible and affordable platform for transformation of education from a rigid classroom-based delivery model to a restructured, adaptable student-centric one that will enhance student-faculty engagement and learning outcomes. Most importantly, it will create thinkers and innovators for solving societal problems.

A major goal of the partnership will be to engage in translational research to develop solutions for global sustainability and humanitarian challenges. The key focus areas will include all Engineering disciplines, Biotechnology, Nanotechnology, Molecular Medicine, Social Sciences, Medicine, Nursing, Public Health, Pharmacy, Global Media Studies, Agriculture, and Sustainable Development.

The University of Arizona
The University of Arizona is a top-ranked public research university in Tucson and is classified as a Carnegie Foundation Research 1 institution. It is ranked 104th in the world by Times Higher Education's 2020 World University Rankings. The university is known for advancing frontiers of interdisciplinary scholarship and entrepreneurial partnerships as a member of the Association of American Universities, the 62 leading public and private research universities in the U.S. The university has been a part of every planetary mission with NASA and is the fourth most awarded public university by NASA for research.

Amrita University
Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham is a multi-campus, multi-disciplinary Institution of Eminence accredited by NAAC and ranked the 8th Best Overall University in India by the National Institution Ranking Framework (NIRF) for the past three years. The university is spread across five campuses in three states of India  — Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka — with the institution's headquarters at Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu. Amrita partners with academic, industry, and governmental institutions across the world to accomplish human-centered, translational, and groundbreaking research. To date, the university has over 500 collaborations from over 200 signed Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs). Some of Amrita's partners include Harvard University, Columbia University, King's College London, KTH–Royal Institute of Technology, VU Amsterdam, the British Geological Society, University of Oxford, Italian National Research Council, Deakin University, and the University of Tokyo.

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