Hindujas and King’s College London ink new India-UK healthcare agreement

The Hinduja Group and King’s College London established a new relationship on Wednesday with the goal of enhancing training and research capacity building, as well as providing scholarships for Indian students, to improve healthcare results in India and the UK.

The new strategic partnership to advance two-way training, education, and research capacity building includes King’s College London, Guy’s & St. Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, the Hinduja Foundation UK, and Mumbai’s P.D. Hinduja Hospital & Medical Research Centre, which is managed by the National Health & Education Society.

In order to advance the development of new technologies to meet global healthcare concerns, it will result in the establishment of a new Hinduja-King’s Health Partners Academy.

After visiting the London Institute for Healthcare Engineering (LIHE), a new “MedTech Venture Builder” that brings together R&D expertise from academia, the National Health Service (NHS), and industry, UK Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden stated, “This collaboration will only strengthen the UK’s close links to India and create greater research capacity in healthcare engineering, clinical innovation, and advanced training.”

A memorandum of understanding was signed last week at LIHE by King’s College London, Guy’s & St. Thomas’, and the National Health & Education Society. Under this agreement, health professionals in India and the UK will receive training in clinical and non-clinical short courses, research capacity building, and executive education, enabling them to exchange best clinical practices.

Separately, through PhD and Master’s scholarships for students from India in biomedical engineering and imaging sciences, a “significant philanthropic gift” from the Hinduja Foundation UK—the amount of which has not been disclosed—will enable health engineering research and clinical innovation.

The Hinduja-King’s Health Partners Academy encompasses these two streams, which draw from the research, teaching, and concentration on biomedical technology, health data, including artificial intelligence (AI), and innovative medicines of King’s College London.

“We are honored to back the founding of the Hinduja-King’s Health Partners Academy, which will fortify the UK’s relationship with India while contributing to the revolution of healthcare via cutting-edge education and training for the upcoming workforce. Victoria Atkins, the UK’s health secretary, stated, “This shows the strength of the India-UK Health Partnership, which is leading the way to improve patient care across the UK and India.”

According to the Hinduja family, the partnership is a tribute to the charitable endeavors of the late Srichand P. Hinduja, the former chairman of the global Hinduja Group who departed from this life last year.

A long-term relationship to generate actual beneficial healthcare and research outcomes to help India and the UK is what his brother G.P. Hinduja, chairman of the Hinduja Group and Foundation, stated.

The partnership’s goal, according to Professor Shitij Kapur, Vice-Chancellor and President of King’s College London, is to assist the next generation of biomedical technical talent and healthcare professionals in India and the UK who will “develop the healthcare technologies of the future.”

“The Hinduja-King’s Health Partners Academy will not only provide training, education, and research opportunities for future generations of healthcare professionals, but also strengthens the Indo-UK friendship, benefiting both sides as partners,” said Prokar Dasgupta, a professor of surgery at King’s Health Partners and the academy’s board chair.

Since its founding in 1989, the Hinduja Foundation UK is believed to have provided funding for various initiatives aimed at promoting interfaith harmony, health, and education throughout the country. It is the successor to the Hinduja Foundation, a public charity organization founded in 1968 in Mumbai and based on the benevolent ideals of Parmanand Deepchand Hinduja, the founder of the Hinduja Group.