In 2017, two Indian origin women experts, Parveen Kumar (medicine, based at the London School of Medicine) and Pratibha Gai (electron microscopy, University of York) were honored with damehood, the female equivalent of knighthood, one of Britain’s highest civilian honors.
This is due to rise in the Indian academics in the UK. Although the number of Indian students going for higher education in the UK has seen a steady decline since 2010 yet the number of Indian origin academics has gone up steadily, crossing the 5000 mark for the first time.
The category includes Indian citizens and British citizens of Indian-origin. During 2016-17, the 5,245 academics in this group included 2,185 Indian citizens, according to new figures provided by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA).
Universities with the highest number of Indian-origin academics include Oxford, Cambridge, University College London, King’s College London, Manchester, and the Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine, the latest HESA figures showed.
Clinical medicine is the most chosen field for most Indian students. Subjects like Biosciences, Business management, mechanical and aero production engineering, and information technology are other trusted fields.
The HESA figures complement the findings of a 2015 study that said Indian academics in research-intensive universities are preferred due to their “single-mindedness, competitiveness, resilience and work centrality”, as well as their links with Indian institutions and knowledge of India.
Indian academics are “singled out for jobs over other candidates” partly due to their willingness to “play the game” of prioritizing research over teaching. However, they were said to be unsure about the future due to growing focus on teaching, found the study.
Source: Hindustan Times