Latest news
World-renowned Violinist leads concert celebrating BCU’s unique relationship with India
Royal Birmingham Conservatoire at Birmingham City University (BCU) is celebrating the success of last night's concert which showcased one of the world’s greatest violinists fusing Indian and Western classical music.
International Magnesium Association Announces the Formation of its New India Chapter
The International Magnesium Association (IMA) is excited to unveil its new India Chapter, reflecting a deepening of our engagement with the Indian magnesium community.
This significant decision stems from years of collaboration with Indian academia and businesses, led predominantly by our longstanding European member, Birmingham City University (BCU).
Indian Tolkien launches new book at RBC
Royal Birmingham Conservatoire hosted bestselling Indian author and diplomat Amish Tripathi in the Bradshaw Hall on 12 October to celebrate the launch of his new book ‘War of Lanka’ published by Harper Collins.
Alongside being a writer, Amish Tripathi is also Minister of Culture and Education with the High Commission of India in the UK.
Celebrating South Asian Heritage Month
Attended by members of the BCU India Group, in a celebration of South Asian Heritage Month, three Indian speakers shared their experiences at the NatWest Accelerator Hub in Birmingham. This was to provide valuable insights into what had influenced and motivated them throughout their lives - with the abiding mantra that we should all energetically pursue each and every opportunity we encounter.
Visiting Professor organises UK-India event at Westminster to strengthen ties
Organised by Chairman of India Inc Group and Visiting Professor in Media and Communications Manoj Ladwa, the fifth annual India Global Forum UK-India Week event aimed to strengthen relationships between India and the UK for the mutual benefit of the two nations. The event was held at the Queen Elizabeth Conference Centre in Westminster, and was attended by a number of influential speakers and delegates, including Leader of the Labour Party and Opposition Sir Keir Starmer.
The aim of the event was to facilitate discussion between business, politics, culture and health leaders, and foster bilateral relations. Head of Compliance Anita Virk, Senior Development Manager Makhan Singh and Associate Professor Steve McCabe attended the opening event, which celebrated the longstanding relationship between the UK and India that has the potential to flourish through technology, innovation and collaborative partnerships between academia and business.
A celebration of Indian music
Royal Birmingham Conservatoire hosted a collaborative concert of Indian music and Indo-Jazz on Sunday 25 June to celebrate and thank visiting artist Dr Radhika Balakrishnan for her contribution to revitalising Indian music at RBC.
Dr Balakrishnan has spent five months at the Conservatoire collaborating with staff and students as part of her role as the first-ever Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) Chair in Indian Studies.
Bollywood Superstar receives major University honour
Globally acclaimed singer, composer and actor Shankar Mahadevan has been awarded an Honorary Doctorate in recognition of his outstanding services to music and the arts.
Shankar, who has been described as one of the greatest-ever Bollywood vocalists, was honoured with the award at a special ceremony at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire (RBC) on Saturday 24 June.
Folk for all faiths
Visiting Professor of Indian Studies and Indian Council for Cultural Relations Chair Dr Radhika Balakrishnan came together with some 50 students in the Conservatoire Folk Ensemble for a very special performance.
Directed by Conservatoire Folk Ensemble Director Joe Broughton, the performance celebrated the Coronation of King Charles III by fusing loud, celebratory folk music with Indian vocals at the Balaji Temple, Tividale.
University welcomes Indian business leaders
The BCU India Group hosted a delegation of Indian business owners at STEAMhouse on Thursday 2 February 2023 as part of the West Midlands Growth Company (WMGC) initiative: West Midlands India Partnership, which aims to boost UK-India relations, trade, investment and partnerships between the West Midlands and India.
Indian start-ups visit STEAMhouse for growth opportunities
BCU hosted 20 companies from India in November 2022 as part of a Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) visit to the UK. Head of Growth and Incubation Richard Scutt, Professor of Digital Technology Cham Athwal and Senior Development Manager Martin Weston hosted the Indian start-ups, which had come to the UK to learn more about business development and to create networks with academics for future India-UK funding calls.
Bollywood star to be recognised with top university honour
The award-winning Indian singer and composer Shankar Mahadevan, described as one of the greatest Bollywood vocalists alive - an honorary doctorate from the University for his outstanding contribution to music and the arts.
BCU and Indian university partner for research event
Staff from BCU and the BML Munjal University (BMU) in India hosted a two-hour online session demonstrating the hard work, collaboration and academic achievements of staff in two different countries. The online event took place on Thursday 20 October in conjunction with Diwali.
This Diwali lecture series is the third annual edition of this lecture series, which showcases the strength and breadth of the relationship between BCU and BMU.
Members of India’s elite athletic squad were given a rapturous welcome by fans on arrival in the UK
Members of India’s elite athletic squad were given a rapturous welcome by fans on arrival in the UK, as part of a special event organised by the Indian High Commission and hosted by the University.
Hundreds of supporters from across the Indian diaspora, drawn from the worlds of education, culture, sport, and business, joined senior leaders and staff from the University and Indian government officials to honour boxing, gymnastics and squash professionals - in the country for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games - during the evening event at Royal Birmingham Conservatoire.
Birmingham-born founder of India-focussed media organisation lands top university role
A leading businessman who founded a major India-focussed media company and policy network has been given a top university role.
Manoj Ladwa, founder of the London-based India Inc Group has been named as a Visiting Professor at Birmingham City University in recognition of his expertise spanning business, charity and politics in both the UK and India.
Professor Ladwa, who also served as a member of Narendra Modi’s Prime Ministerial campaign team, is renowned for his work in joining up key collaborations between the two nations.
Indian classical music superstars visit Royal Birmingham Conservatoire
Ties between British and Indian musicians were boosted in February 2022 with a visit by four classical music superstars to Royal Birmingham Conservatoire - who told the audience that ‘music has the power to change your life in a way you couldn’t even imagine’.
Tabla supremo Zakir Hussain, acclaimed singer-composer Shankar Mahadevan, leading flautist Rakesh Chaurasia, and legendary keyboardist and producer Louiz Banks met staff and students at the world-renowned centre of music, based at Birmingham City University.
You can read more on the event, as well as watch this video of the visit.
Birmingham City University collaborates with high-profile Indian organisation for business masterclass
Birmingham City University is collaborating with The Lala Bahadur Chand Munjal Foundation to host an event offering expert advice on launching a start-up, part of a series of masterclasses before opening an innovation centre in India.
The two-day, online event is scheduled for Friday 28 – Saturday 29 January, from 3-5pm (IST), and is the first in a series of masterclasses that establishes BCU’s partnership with The Lala Bahadur Chand Munjal Foundation in India.
Taking place via Zoom, speaking at the event will be Birmingham City University’s Deputy-Vice Chancellor Julian Beer, Bernard Curren (Assistant Director of Enterprise) and STEAMhouse Incubator client Simon Caulton, who has recently launched his footwear brand.
Also offering their expertise are Sunil Kant Munjal, Chairman of Indian conglomerate Hero Enterprise, as well as Ritesh Agarwal, Founder and Group CEO of Indian hospitality company OYO, one of the world’s most successful start-ups.
India-UK Creative Industries at 75: Opportunities and Challenges
Professor of Cultural Studies and Creative Industries Rajinder Dudrah was awarded follow-on funding worth £50,000 by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) and Innovate UK for his latest research project: 'India-UK Creative Industries at 75: Opportunities and Challenges'.
Three online workshops and a final online showcase symposium created for the project between February and October 2022, with the aim of bringing together artists in India and the UK across screen industries, live performance and fashion.
The objectives of the project: to develop the creative economies between these two regions by connecting local artists, to identify opportunities and overcome challenges in their respective sectors, as India marks 75 years of Independence.
For the purposes of the project, around 30 artists will share their crafts and discuss the possibilities, challenges and resources that have affected their respective industries, particularly since Covid-19, with their peers. The research will also offer opportunities for participants to network and create new short artistic outputs.
Celebration of poetry to mark 75 years of Indian independence
India’s 75-year independence was marked by a special celebration of poetry from writers and performers of Indian origin.
Birmingham City University (UK) joined forces with Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, New Delhi to stage a series of three events across 2021 and 2022, which celebrate the multilingual poetry of India and its diaspora.
Devised to mark the 75th anniversary of India’s independence the events explore the longstanding tradition of poetry and its historic role in Indian tradition.
The series features Indian poets and British poets of Indian heritage to honour the close relationship between the two countries.
The first event took place online on Saturday 18 September 4pm to 5.30pm IST (11.30am – 1pm UK time) and featured artists including Rati Agnihotri (English/Hindi), Sanjeev Kaushal (Hindi), Meena Kandasamy (Tamil/English), and Anwar Ali (Malayalam/English).
Bollywood expert appointed Visiting Professor
BCU has announced Gopi Puthran as a Visiting Professor in Indian Film Making. The announcement was made on Sunday 9 February at the Midlands Arts Centre (mac) during an exclusive BCU screening of Gopi Puthran’s film Mardaani 2. Pro Vice-Chancellor and Executive Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Design and Media Professor Alison Honour made the announcement during an audience Q&A session with Gopi Puthran, who wrote and directed the film.
New partnership will see students gain experience in top international film industries
A new partnership between BCU and one of India’s most renowned creative institutions will see students given opportunities to collaborate on major projects in the Bollywood and UK film industries.
We have formed a formal collaboration with Mumbai-based Ronkel Media Education Institute, which will see students handed real-world experience working on motion picture productions.
Ronkel specialises in film industry training and its staff are internationally renowned for their contribution to Bollywood filmmaking, while Birmingham City University has a history of creative education in the UK’s second city, which dates back more than 175 years.
A memorandum of understanding was signed which aims to support students in developing the valuable skills needed to help create, perform in or market a movie.
Collaboration with Hero Group will promote innovation and entrepreneurship in the State of Punjab
Hero Group and BCU are collaborating to establish the Munjal BCU School of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (MBSI) to promote innovation and entrepreneurship in the State of Punjab.
The project will come up at Ludhiana and will cater to the needs of the business industrial sector of the State.
Higher education in Punjab finds itself at the crossroads with many students seeking to study and then immigrating to other countries in search of better opportunities. Students appear reluctant to pursue higher education in Punjab because of the perception that the quality of training and education on offer isn’t quite up to the standards expected of an industrialised state.
This is where the proposed Munjal-BCU School of Innovation and Entrepreneurship (MBSI) could emerge as a game-changer. The School aims to re-design the higher education offering in a manner that it leads to more meaningful student outcomes. The proposed MBSI aims to trigger industrial revival in the state by:
- Driving innovation in the state’s industrial clusters and promoting entrepreneurship
- Tapping into the state’s reservoirs of manpower
- Developing the considerable potential in the knowledge-intensive businesses
MagBird Project
This painting is part of a wider project at our university, which is based within the STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) and International agenda at BCU – and the purpose of the project is to seek a merging between engineering and the arts – with the ultimate goal to produce an art installation which will educate and inspire the wider public on an international basis to the potential uses of magnesium, in particular within the aerospace sector.
The project will also aim to connect cities to Birmingham via an actual magnesium art installation of the ‘MagBird’ at major international airports, of which we are hoping an Indian Airport will be the first partner city to Birmingham.
Magnesium is nearly half the weight of aluminium, 100% recyclable and the eighth-most abundant element in the Earth’s crust – so why don’t we use magnesium more? One of the reasons resides in the misconceptions of magnesium, which are rife not only to the general public but also within industry.
This project builds on the heritage of Birmingham City University as a catapult for growth among regional industries through both knowledge transfer and by offering a unique, interdisciplinary approach. The strength of this project lies in its levels of collaboration and partnership which spans both industry and academic/professional staff, and the undergraduate and postgraduate student body of Birmingham City University.
Electric Vehicle Challenges
KERALA will get a boost in the expertise from Birmingham City University (BCU) with the latter agreeing to help the state by providing sustainable solutions for challenges in various sectors, including education and transport, to help Kerala’s march towards progress. A three-member delegation led by Bernard Curren, assistant director of enterprise, BCU, was invited by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to expedite the university’s role in sectors where their research findings can be implemented. Jenny Harding, interim director, Research and Innovation, and Makhan Singh, senior partnership manager, were the other members of the team.