Over 20 senior leaders from institutions across India, including Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT), Hindustan Group of Institutions, Presidency Group (Bangalore), Integral University (Lucknow), and IIT Delhi, are visiting the UK as part of a week-long program of engagement and campus visits – including at the University of East London and the University of York.
The delegation forms part of next week’s India UK Education conference, run by NISAU. The conference will be followed by the fourth edition of the NISAU Achievers Honours Gala at the Connaught Hotel, which will feature a new award category recognising education agents as well as categories including business and entrepreneurship and media and journalism.
It marks one of the largest groups of senior Indian education leaders to visit the UK in recent years, building on growing bilateral cooperation between the two countries as educational ties strengthen.
In October 2025, a 126-strong UK delegation made up of British university vice-chancellors, entrepreneurs and cultural leaders led by UK Prime Minister Starmer headed to India to celebrate a landmark trade deal between the two countries. A slew of top UK universities are currently setting up international branch campuses in India, with Southampton’s campus outside Delhi being the first to open its doors to students.
“Welcoming one of the largest delegations of Indian education leaders to the UK for the second year in a row is a clear signal that education now sits at the centre of our shared growth agenda,” NISAU founder and chairperson Sanam Arora told The PIE News.
“The UK-India partnership is moving beyond exchange to economic strategy – aligning skills, innovation and talent mobility to drive productivity and competitiveness in both countries. This visit reflects a mutual recognition that the next phase of bilateral growth will be powered by human capital, and that universities are critical engines of that ambition.”
This visit reflects a mutual recognition that the next phase of bilateral growth will be powered by human capital, and that universities are critical engines of that ambition
Sanam Arora, NISAU
At the conference, leaders from both countries will work together in workshops to put key pillars from the UK-India Vision 2035 into practice. The vision document, which looked to boost strategic partnership across business and trade, education, and innovation and research, was promoted by Prime Ministers Keir Starmer and Narendra Modi last year.
Last month, sector leaders gathered in Chennai for the inaugural India Global Education Summit, which saw the announcement of the University of East London’s first India hub.
