England Councillor Athwal visits Guru Nanak Dev University
KS Diwan/ royalpatiala.in/ Amritsar
Kewal Singh Athwal paid an official visit to Guru Nanak Dev University here today to establish international links between the Guru Nanak Dev University and Government of Great Britain in the field of Higher education, Tourism and Research. Kewal Athwal was welcomed by Vice-Chancellor Prof. (Dr.) Jaspal Singh Sandhu along with other senior officials of the University.
Sandhu said ‘Today marks nothing less than the beginning of a new era of cooperation for India and UK. By teaming up, our university is creating a unique alliance and leading the way in shaping the future of Indo-Britain research partnership. He said meeting with Kewal Athwal for strong India-UK strategic partnership particularly in the field of Higher education, tourism research” will be fruitful.
Athwal said “This strategic research partnership between the University of Derby and Guru Nanak Dev University is a milestone with respect to international relations. He said that we are happy to sign MoU with Guru Nanak Dev University. We look forward to a long and fruitful collaboration with different departments of Guru Nanak Dev University, which is among the best universities in India with a high research focus and diverse academic programs. This is the beginning of a long-term collaboration, having students from Guru Nanak Dev University come to the UK and European students coming to India and launching of exciting professional development programmes. Discussions were held to launch dual degree programs for Master’s and doctoral students.” he added.
Kewal Singh Athwal was elected to Derbyshire County Council in May 2017 to represent the residents of the Sawley Division, he is currently the Chairman of the Audit Committee and is also a member of the Scrutiny Places Committee at DCC and a Director of Derbyshire Developments Ltd. Kewal has also been a Councillor at Erewash Borough Council since May 2000, representing the Wilsthorpe Ward residents. He is the Chairman of The Licensing and Public Protection Committee besides this he was also the Mayor of Erewash in the 2014 – 2015 Civic year. Athwal is the first Mayor from an ethnic minority group to hold the position. Born into a Sikh family in Punjab state near the city of Jalandhar in India, Athwal moved to Britain in 1961. His career has been mainly in two industries — motor trade and textiles.
Dr Preet Mohinder Singh Bedi, Coordinator University-Industry linkage Programme said ‘University is delighted that we have successfully established a strategic partnership with the University of Derby, one of the world’s most renowned universities.
Prof. Kamaljit Singh, Prof S S Behl, Prof. Balwinder Singh and other senior officials from the university were also present on this occasion.
