During a visit to India last week, a high-level delegation from the Maryland-based institute discussed the possibility of establishing an offshore campus in India. 

Apart from its nine campuses in the US, JHU already has two international campuses – the SAIS Europe in Bologna, Italy, for international relations and global studies, and the Hopkins-Nanjing Center in China, focused on Chinese and American studies. 

With the National Education Policy, introduced in 2020, promoting transnational education to establish India as a global hub of education, efforts are being made to attract international universities to the South Asian country. 

While the University Grants Commission has released regulations for setting up branch campuses in India, GIFT City, a central business district in Gujarat, has already launched offshore campuses under its own framework. 

Led by Ronald J. Daniels, president of JHU, the delegation met with India’s union minister for education, Dharmendra Pradhan, and discussed various academic and research collaborations. 

“The discussion centered on strengthening academic and research collaborations between JHU and premier HEIs. The delegation actively discussed establishing an offshore JHU campus in India.”

_{Spokesperson, Ministry of Education}

According to official statement by the MoE: “The discussion centered on strengthening academic and research collaborations between JHU and premier Indian higher education institutions. The delegation actively discussed establishing an offshore JHU campus in India.”

The representation included officials from Gupta Klinsky India Institute, an internal unit of JHU with a mandate to connect the institute’s community with Indian partners through research, education, policy, and practice.

“Minister Pradhan and the JHU delegation engaged in extensive discussions on dual and joint degree programs, two-way mobility for students and faculty, and research collaborations in emerging areas such as data science, artificial intelligence, and advanced technologies,” a spokesperson for the MoE told The PIE. 

The 12-member delegation is on a multi-city tour in India, visiting various Indian university campuses and engaging with key government officials, academic leaders, and embassy representatives.

The university has already launched two initiatives in India to address tuberculosis elimination and promote gender equality in STEM and Medicine. 

With an estimated 6% of TB cases in India affecting children younger than 15 years, according to the National TB Elimination Program, researchers at Johns Hopkins will be collaborating with Indian counterparts to launch the TB-Free Schools initiative. 

The initiative builds on the success of a cost-effective project in the North Indian state of Himachal Pradesh, which achieved an 87% reduction in TB cases in residential schools.

The initiative aims to expand its successful approach to four regions across three states: Pune and Satara in Maharashtra, Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh, and Chennai in Tamil Nadu.

The program will focus on preventing, diagnosing, and treating active and latent TB cases among students attending day schools in India.

This initiative is a collaborative effort involving the government of India, the Serum Institute of India, AIIMS Gorakhpur, and the Mukul Madhav Foundation. 

Another significant initiative by JHU is a career advancement program for women in STEM and Medicine. 

In its pilot phase, the program will train and mentor 40 early-career women, equipping them for senior roles in research and development.

While women make up an estimated 43 percent of India’s STEM graduates, reports suggest they represent nearly 17 percent of the research workforce in India.

To address these gaps, the GKII has been chosen as an anchor partner by the US Department of State. 

This collaboration falls under the US-India Alliance for Women’s Economic Empowerment (Alliance), which aims to foster greater gender equality in the workforce.

As part of this initiative, GKII will design and develop a national fellowship program to advance women scientists’ careers in India. 

“India is a place of tremendous talent and opportunity, and Johns Hopkins values its enduring collaborations in India and their impact. We are excited to launch these two initiatives that reflect our shared commitment to innovation and human flourishing,” said Daniels.