Hindujas sign new India-UK healthcare pact with King’s College London

London, April 24 (PTI) The Hinduja Group and King’s College London on Wednesday announced a new partnership aimed at improving healthcare outcomes in India and the UK, through training and research capacity building as well as scholarships for Indian students.

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 – run by the National Health & Education Society – are involved in the new strategic partnership to advance two-way training, education and research capacity building.

It will lead to the creation of a new Hinduja-King’s Health Partners Academy with the aim of driving forward the development of new technologies to address global healthcare challenges.

“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,” said UK Deputy Prime Minister Oliver Dowden after a visit last week to the London Institute for Healthcare Engineering (LIHE) – a new “MedTech Venture Builder” to bring together R&D expertise across academia, the National Health Service (NHS) and industry.

King’s College London, Guy’s & St. Thomas’ and the National Health & Education Society signed a memorandum of agreement at LIHE last week, which will deliver training in clinical and non-clinical short courses, research capacity building and executive education to health professionals in India and the UK for them to mutually share the best clinical practices.

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

Both these strands form part of the Hinduja-King’s Health Partners Academy, drawing on King’s College London’s research, teaching and focus on biomedical technologies, health data – including artificial intelligence (AI) – and advanced therapies.

“We are proud to support the establishment of the Hinduja-King’s Health Partners Academy, which will strengthen the UK’s bond with India while helping to transform the future of healthcare through innovation and advanced training for the next generation of staff. This demonstrates the strength of the India-UK Health Partnership which is leading the way to improve patient care across the UK and India,” said UK Health Secretary Victoria Atkins.

The Hinduja family says the collaboration is in recognition of the philanthropic work of the late Srichand P. Hinduja, former chairman of the multinational Hinduja Group who passed away last year.

His brother G.P. Hinduja, chairman of the Hinduja Group and Foundation, said: “We see this as part of a long-term partnership to bring real positive healthcare and research outcomes to benefit India and the UK.”

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

Prokar Dasgupta, Professor of Surgery at King’s Health Partners who will chair the board of the Hinduja-King’s Health Partners Academy, added: “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, benefitting both sides as partners.”

The Hinduja Foundation UK was established in 1989 and is said to have supported numerous projects in education, health and interfaith understanding in the UK. It follows on from the Hinduja Foundation, a public charitable trust established in Mumbai in 1968, rooted on the philanthropic principles of Hinduja Group founder Parmanand Deepchand Hinduja.