As we prepare for the new academic year, our Dean Ngaire Woods is just in the middle of a short visit to India. She is in fact in New Delhi alongside the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford to strengthen and develop the University’s relations with various organizations, government representatives and individuals.

This visit is also a great opportunity for Ngaire to connect with the Indian public and raise the profile of the Blavatnik School of Government in the country. One of our main strengths is the internationality of our student body and having just opened admissions for the fourth year of our MPP, we’re hoping to see applications coming from candidates in every country of the world - including India.

Ngaire will be attending lectures and discussions and she will also meet with government officials and business leaders. Today, she is taking part in a session organized by the Council of Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW). The discussion is themed ‘India In A Shifting Global Governance order” and will be moderated by Ms Indrani Bagchi, senior diplomatic editor of The Times of India.

Yesterday Ngaire attended two main events:

• Minimum government, maximum governance. The theme of this panel discussion organised by Brookings India was inspired by what has quickly become a well-known slogan of the BJP election campaign. Prime Minister Modi has projected himself as a leader who is determined to dramatically improve the effectiveness of the country’s governance mechanisms. Ngaire was part of a panel to discuss and understand the critical problems and constraints that need to be considered before change can happen in the Indian context.
• Mobilising healthcare: harnessing science, technology and enterpreneurship. An opportunity to showcase University of Oxford’s research, the inaugural Oxford India Lecture looked at how the healthcare challenges of disadvantaged populations can be addressed in a cost-effective way by pulling together expertise from business and cutting-edge research, as well as the latest technology. Ngaire led the panel discussion that followed the lecture.