Imagining success

This study provides a context for the opportunities and challenges inherent in engaging with India on higher education matters, including an analysis of the current state of education in India and a frank assessment of Canada's ability to coordinate action and then both fund and deliver it; Canada is in a unique position among suitor nations yet is on the cusp of squandering this opportunity. [...] India boasts a small tier of world-class but under-funded institutions at the top – notably the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) and a small number of other top and ‘meritocratic’ public institutions such as the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore – tower above a swelling, over-burdened and under- funded public system of close to 300 universit [...] The French Minister of Higher Education and Research recently announced the establishment of the Indo-French Consortium of Universities that will initiate projects of joint research and enhanced cooperation at the Masters Degree level and the signing of 21 inter-university agreements. [...] Recent government reforms and the liberalization of the economy have encouraged the growth of private institutions, including colleges and vocational training institutions, again of a diverse range of standards and in desperate need of collaboration and assistance in the design of programs that can withstand the much- needed implementation of quality assurance measures. [...] Canadian educational institutions and governments require imagination and a coherent strategy that deal with the arts and social sciences as well as in the sciences and both basic and applied research.