The Nalanda University (NU) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Kanazawa University of Japan for academic collaboration, a NU statement said today.
Mori Masahide, Head of the School of Humanities, Indian Buddhist Studies, Comparative Culture Studies, Kanazawa University and Pankaj Mohan, Interim Vice Chancellor on behalf of Chancellor Vijay Bhatkar Nalanda University signed the MoU in Rajgir yesterday,
According to the MoU, the two universities will make an effort to promote and develop cooperation through exchange of faculty members and research fellows, exchange of students, and academic materials, publications and information, Smita Polite, Head of NU communication department said in the statement. The two would also conduct joint research projects and organization of symposiums.
Speaking on the occasion, Pankaj Mohan said "India and Japan are ancient civilizations, bound by close cultural ties, and Nalanda played a crucial role in this civilizational dialogue. Since Nalanda University has the mandate to rediscover the threads of inter-Asian connection, our MoU with Kanazawa University holds immense significance".
Mori Masahide said in his brief speech, "Kanazawa University has been designated by the Japanese Ministry of Education as a "Super Global University", and as Nalanda University shares this vision and goal, the MoU would pave the way for an enduring partnership between the two institutions."
K Chandramoorthi, the officiating Registrar of Nalanda University said, "we are pleased to collaborate with the Kanazawa University, a 50-year-old National University of Japan whose roots can be traced to 1862".
Kanazawa University offers various undergraduate and graduate courses and has three colleges and 16 schools with about 11,000 students including 350 international students.
Based on the vision of late President APJ Abdul Kalam, the Nalanda University was set up at Rajgir near the ruins of ancient Nalanda University in Bihar in 2010. Its first academic session began on September 1, 2014.