Essex Economics in India

As travel restrictions between the between the UK and India eased in the Autumn, the Department of Economics very quickly reached the view that a trip to India would be very important given the challenges that the pandemic has posed. Professor Jayant Ganguli, Deputy Head of Department, visited India during 22-30 November 2021. The aim of this trip was to reinvigorate partnership discussions that started in 2019 following the Vice Chancellor’s visit, subsequent departmental visits, and follow up discussions in country which were unfortunately delayed due to the impact of the Pandemic. The trip additionally raised awareness about Economics at Essex, while also demonstrating our resilience to stakeholders in India. The trip was very insightful and thus far seems to have gone a long way in achieving its aims.

The visit comprised of institutional visits, including lectures to students and staff and discussions with staff, digital media activity, and conversations with current and potential applicants and parents. The lectures covered economics research and teaching at Essex, with a focus on some of the work in the highly-regarded and growing area of behavioural and experimental economics and financial economics at Essex.

One of the highlights of the visit was the in-person interaction with the students and staff at a time when many Indian institutions were still restricted on in-person teaching. These were very lively and academically stimulating and I was delighted by the student’s engagement and knowledge of the subject. The meetings with staff colleagues at the institutions were similarly invigorating and covered a range of possible educational and research partnerships. The discussions with applicants and parents and the digital media activity were important in understanding how the pandemic had affected their considerations and as a way to clarify how we in Essex had responded to the pandemic’s challenges. Overall, this trip was a great opportunity to re-emphasise our global presence and we hope to develop further the many partnership opportunities that it has led to.

As the world has begun to open up again, our International Recruitment teams have been busy getting back out into market in line with current restrictions; and having Academic staff in country to support with our international objectives has been invaluable. Sandeep Sharma, our local Regional International Officer based in India noted that “the visit was a testament of our commitment towards regional recruitment activity. The visit included the right mix of institutional meetings, student recruitment, digital marketing and media promotion activity. Dr. Jayant’s visit was particularly useful in reconnecting with institutional partners face-to-face, especially institutions with active friendship agreements.”

We hope to establish regular international department led recruitment and partner visits in 2022, restrictions permitting. If you would like to explore this activity with our International Business Development team then drop us a line at internationalvisits@essex.ac.uk.