Nalanda University vice-chancellor Sunaina Singh and Shin Jong Won, the vice-president of Academy of Korean Studies (AKS) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for academic linkages/collaborations in Patna on Monday.
The two universities will have joint research programmes, faculty and student exchange, mutual sharing of data for academic research and education, joint teaching and cooperation. The MoU will be in effect for five years from the day the two varsities inked the pact.
The VC stated that the coming together of two institutions was a step towards knowledge sharing of two universities and also towards Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Act East Policy.
Singh said: "While the 20th century was of the west, the 21st century will be of Asia and in doing so, Asian countries such as India, China, Japan and South Korea should come forward in having close ties." The VC said Nalanda University has a huge potential and it will be a crown not only for Bihar but for the entire country and the countries associated with Nalanda University.
The construction work of the varsity permanent campus started on March this year and it is expected to be completed in two years.
When The Telegraph asked Singh about China launching its own Nalanda University, she said: "The Nalanda University, which China has set up, is not a university, but a college. China's Nalanda University imparts teaching on Buddhist studies only, but ours is a complete university offering courses from Buddhist studies to ecology and environment among others."
Shin Jong Won said: "This MoU will contribute to the development of Korean Studies and enhance friendship between the two institutions."
Nalanda University had also recently received a personal donation of US$11,535 from South Korean professor Pyong-Rae Lee for establishing a Scholarship Fund for students at the School of Buddhist Studies, Philosophy and Comparative Religions at Nalanda University.
The varsity at present has signed MoU with more than 11 different universities from different counties.
