KU and NPI sign agreement for collaboration on research

Lalitpur, April 29: Kathmandu University and the Nepal Policy Institute (NPI) have signed a memorandum of understanding relating to collaboration on the issues of education and research.

The MoU was signed amidst a program organized at the School of Management, KU, Lalitpur on Monday. The NPI is a Hague-based institute. The global engagement department chief at KU, Dr Dinesh Kafle, informed that the agreement was made on joint research, publication and exchange of students and teachers.

As per the MoU, both institutions would jointly mobilize grants for policy research and cooperate to foster research initiatives. On the occasion, KU Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Achyut Wagle expressed confidence that MoU would help create opportunities for both sides to exchange expertise and experiences among the education communities.

“KU has the policy to invite foreign scholars and professors for long-term teaching and research. The expert team in the diaspora can therefore contribute to KU’s educational programs for the short or long term. I believe this initiative helps us foster cooperation and exchange views between the two academic institutions,” Dr Wagle observed.

Similarly, the Chairman of the NPI Board of Directors, Dr Khagendra Dhakal, shared information on how NPI had played a role in Nepal and Nepal’s policy research and strengthening of the think tank system. The separate academic and research activities carried out by the KU and the NPI would now be further bolstered, he commented.

According to Dr Dhakal, the MoU has paved the way for Nepali talents living and working aboard to demonstrate their intellect in Nepal, which ultimately benefits Nepal. He also stressed the need for trilateral cooperation- among the public sector, universities and think tanks.

The KU is a leading university established in 1992. It has some 22,000 students, while the NPI was set up in Hague City Netherlands in 2017. More than 1,260 experts are associated with its global network. The MoU signing ceremony was attended by university dignitaries.