Aberdeen University plans to open new campus in India

The University of Aberdeen is planning to open a campus in India, it has announced.The institution has been granted permission by the Indian government to take forward proposals in Mumbai.A business case will go before the university's governing court for consideration next month.The University of Strathclyde's Business School previously had an operation in India, but no longer has a presence.
The new venture would initially offer courses in subjects including computing and data science, AI, business, and economics. The target launch date for the plans is September next year.
Prof Siladitya Bhattacharya, vice-principal of global engagement at the university, said India had long been a "priority area" for its strategy.This includes student recruitment and research opportunities.He added: "We are looking forward to collaborating with our Indian partners to bring this vision to life and further bolster ties between Scotland and India through education and research".Aberdeen is currently one of a number of Scottish universities looking at ways of tackling financial pressures.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Daily Mail​

an hour ago

• Daily Mail​

EXCLUSIVE Failure of SNP's green plan as motorists fork out £19m in city centre LEZ zone fines

Growing numbers of motorists are being fined for driving into Scotland's city-centres - according to new figures which call into question the value of the country's controversial low emission zones. LEZs have now been operating for two full years in Glasgow and for one full year in Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Dundee. Analysis by the Scottish Mail on Sunday of new published data reveals the massive impact on drivers - with more than 169,000 fines issued so far, worth in excess of £19million. The stated aim of the LEZs is to improve air quality in city centres by banning older vehicles which, despite being otherwise legal and road-worthy, are deemed to create too much pollution. When the schemes were introduced, it was anticipated the number of fines would gradually dwindle away as drivers either switched to public transport or upgraded to more modern, eco-friendly, cars. As expected, each LEZ saw a rapid drop in breaches within the first few months of operation. However, over the past five months, the trend has reversed and the number of fines issued has actually risen steadily. In January, across the four cities, 7,058 fines were issued. But by May the number had risen to 8,956. The figures suggest the LEZs may not be as effective at reducing air pollution as council bosses had hoped. Meanwhile critics argue there are thousands of drivers who need to travel into city centres for work - but who simply cannot afford to upgrade to newer vehicles. Opposition politicians have warned that if LEZs failed to improve air quality, they would simply become another tax on hard-pressed motorists. Scottish Conservative transport spokesperson Sue Webber MSP said: 'These figures prove what motorists already know – they're being milked for cash because the SNP have gutted council funding. 'You'd think low emission zones were about cleaner air – but in reality, they're trapping drivers who have no other option. 'Most Scots can't just shell out for a new car to meet these rules. The nationalists are completely out of touch. 'If SNP ministers are serious about getting Scots out of their cars, they should show some common sense for a change and deliver reliable and affordable public transport, instead of punishing motorists.' Analysis by the MoS shows that a total of 169,329 LEZ fines have so far been issued across the four cities - worth an astonishing £19.1m. The severity of penalties depends on how often a driver infringes the LEZ - from £60 for a single breach to a maximum of £960 if someone drives a non-compliant vehicle into the zone five or more times in a three-month period. Incredibly, 6,787 of these maximum £960 fines have so far been dished out across the country. Scotland's first LEZ was set up in Glasgow in June 2023. Policed by a network of number-plate recognition cameras, it covers a square mile of the city centre between the River Clyde and the M8 motorway. As the country's long-running LEZ, it has unsurprisingly issued the highest overall number of fines: 72,110 tickets - an average of 3,005 every month - worth a total of £7.1m. Last September Glasgow City Council said the LEZ had made a 'promising start' at improving air quality. Pollution data covering the first six months of the LEZ suggested nitrogen dioxide levels in parts of the city centre had dropped by 20 per cent - but remained high in the busiest streets. The council also revealed that, after operating costs, the scheme raised a surplus of around £750,000 in the financial year 2023/24 - which would be spent on planting trees and turning bus-stop roofs into havens for bees. Edinburgh has so far issued the highest average number of LEZ tickets - 3,988 each month. The capital's zone extends from Holyrood Park to Haymarket - and came into force in June 2024. After a sharp drop last year in the first few months of the LEZ, the number of fines in the capital has risen steadily from 2,664 in January to 3,401 in May. Last night Edinburgh City Council blamed the recent rise on tourists driving into the city - but said the scheme overall was delivering benefits. Transport and environment convener Stephen Jenkinson, said: 'Last year we joined Glasgow, Dundee and Aberdeen to implement and enforce an LEZ across the city centre, reaffirming our intentions to create a healthier, cleaner city for everyone. 'Since then, I've been really encouraged to see the number of fines for non-compliant vehicles steadily decline, showing that people are getting used to the LEZ and making changes. 'Recent fluctuations may be down to an increased number of visitors over the months that attract more tourists and we'll continue to monitor this.' Meanwhile drivers in Aberdeen have been hit with the highest average value of fines - equating to £417,930 per month. The city's LEZ, which also came into force in June 2024, is clustered around Union Street and the surrounding roads, covering an area of just half a mile squared. Dundee's LEZ is bordered by the A92 and the A991 inner ring-road and began at the very end of May 2023. It has so far issued the lowest average number of fines - just 1,292 per month. Government agency Transport Scotland has said that despite the rises in recent months, the number of LEZ breaches was still significantly lower than last June when the scheme was first introduced in Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Dundee. A Transport Scotland spokesperson said: 'In Edinburgh and Aberdeen, the number of PCNs issued in May 2025 was approximately half the number issued in June 2024. In Dundee, the figure was down by around two-thirds over the same period, while in Glasgow, there was a reduction of about one-third. 'LEZs are already working to improve air quality. In Glasgow, where the LEZ has been enforced since 2023, air quality benefits are already being accrued with average nitrogen dioxide (NO2) levels in the LEZ down approximately 20% compared to 2022.'

Daily Mail​

2 hours ago

• Daily Mail​

Top headteacher's fury at politicians who 'delight in the demise of independent schools'

The head of one of the largest private schools in the UK has hit out at politicians who 'delight in the demise of independent schools' and says her school makes £45m a year for the Scottish economy. Lisa Kerr, who formerly led King Charles 's old school Gordonstoun, said those driven by their 'ideological beliefs' failed to recognise the massive economic benefits of private schools. Now Principal at prestigious George Watson's College in Edinburgh, where 1 in 4 pupils attend private schools, one of the highest numbers in the UK, said: 'Our school alone contributed £34.8 million in GVA (gross added value) to the Edinburgh economy, supporting 580 jobs in the city. 'Across Scotland, our impact rose to £44.7 million GVA and 680 jobs.' And Ms Kerr, who has previously slammed the government's VAT on fees tax raid as an 'existential threat' for private schools, said: 'The impact on Treasury coffers and state school places is only half the story. 'Those whose motivations are ideological and who delight in the demise of independent schools miss the significant economic impact we have on our communities and the benefits that are at stake as the sector shrinks.' Pointing out the huge savings City of Edinburgh Council had made because of children being educated outside the state sector, she explained: 'By educating nearly 2500 pupils, our school saved the public purse a staggering £18.9m with £15.7m of this directly relating to savings made by City of Edinburgh Council from us educating pupils in this area. 'In addition to the staff we employ directly, the school has a valuable and long term supply chain including catering, construction, engineering and cleaning, some for as long as 25 years.' The Labour-run council has been in the firing line since The Mail on Sunday first revealed its hardline anti private school policies such as charging sick kids on cancer wards at the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People in Edinburgh £115 an hour for tuition if they went to private schools while state school children received it free. Ms Kerr also warned the huge numbers quitting the independent sector – 'four times the government estimate at 13,000' – would have a devastating impact on the state sector. She said: 'Once numbers are in for the rest of the year, the Treasury sums will be further adrift. The numbers for this flawed policy just don't add up; not only will the government fail to raise the promised income but it will put serious strain on the public purse as more pupils are forced to move to already stretched state schools.' Ms Kerr has previously revealed admissions numbers are dropping at the historic college, originally founded in the 18th century, where fees have risen by up to £19,991 a year because of VAT on school fees. And she warned local partnerships which had delivered 'significant positive social impact' including work with the Edinburgh Food Project, an HIV education project and work with local primary schools were now under threat. 'As admissions and pupil numbers fall due to the introduction of the politically driven education tax, these benefits are at significant risk. This will not only damage Edinburgh's economy but will also increase the taxpayer burden. 'It is time for the government to go back to the calculator, be honest about the actual benefits that any school will ever see and to rethink this policy.' The UK Government has repeatedly defended its stance, stating that ending tax breaks for private schools will raise £1.8billion a year by 2029/30, to be spent 'supporting the 94 per cent of children in state schools'.

The Independent

3 hours ago

• The Independent

Tourist taxes: be careful what you wish for, because holidaymakers have choices too

In these divided times, seeing multi-party agreement is uplifting. The setting: Glasgow city administration committee on Thursday 19 June. SNP, Labour, Conservatives and Greens joined in voting in favour of the city's visitor levy. From January 2027, people staying in hotels and all other commercial accommodation in Glasgow will pay 5 per cent on top of the bill. Each year, tourists and business travellers will provide £16m for the council to spend on civic improvements and promoting Glasgow. Edinburgh has already decided to charge overnight guests 5 per cent on top of the room rate, starting in July next year. Good to see the two big Scottish cities agreeing on something, too. Back in Glasgow, Ricky Bell of the SNP said there was 'no evidence to suggest that the introduction of a levy would be detrimental to the city'. Free money, then. And (almost) nobody who lives and votes in Glasgow will pay it. What's not to like? A load of locations across Europe and the wider world already have similar tourist taxes. Paris and Rome hardly seem short of tourists, so Mr Bell is surely right: a levy will not deter visitors. At the risk of disrupting such rare unity, I beg to differ. A couple staying in a three-star hotel in the French capital pay £9.50 per night in Paris tourist tax. I shall assume the room itself costs £110, which is what I have been seeing apart from during the Olympics slump last summer. With accommodation tax at 10 per cent in France, the pair will pay just short of 20 per cent in levies – which corresponds to the current rate of VAT in Scotland and the rest of the UK. With their new 5 per cent charge, Edinburgh and Glasgow will leap ahead in the proportion they extract from tourists. By next summer, the 'stealth' visitor tax on foreigners known as air passenger duty will extract £15 for European flights and £102 for North American visitors. It all adds up. Edinburgh and Glasgow are great cities, and share freely with visitors their immense cultural wealth in the shape of world-class museums and galleries. The assumption is that tourist demand is inelastic – the city councils can put on taxes without dampening the desire to visit. I am not so sure. If it were the case, why stop at 5 per cent – let's try 10, or 20? The UK already looks unwelcoming, with a £16 admission fee in the shape of the Electronic Travel Authorisation and a refusal to accept perfectly secure European Union identity cards – disenfranchising around 300 million EU citizens who don't have passports. Edinburgh is a special case. The capital is a huge tourism draw, home to the industry of government and a key business hub. But Glasgow does not enjoy such fortune. If accommodation looks too pricey, visitors from northern England may switch to day trips; other tourists will stay at properties beyond the city's boundaries and the reach of the levy. Either way, the entire spend at a Glasgow property is lost. Another unintended consequence could be that visitors switch to cheaper, characterless budget hotels rather than independent enterprises. Imposing a flat levy across the year looks odd, too. To stretch the season and persuade people to visit off-peak, it would be smarter to have a 15 per cent tax for the four months from the start of June to the end of September, falling to zero for the rest of the year. Fees for visitors are worthwhile if they are substantial and change behaviour The shrewdest tourism tax I have seen in a long while is the brand-new €20 (£17) charge for each passenger arriving on a cruise ship to the Greek islands of Mykonos and Santorini from July to September. Cruise firms are understandably cross that it has been introduced so late in the day. As Paul Ludlow, president of Carnival UK, told me: 'When things are sprung on us late, it's not the way in which we'd like to work.' The principle, though, is sound: 'We really don't need thousands more people arriving for the day and contributing little to the islands' economies, so the least we can do is extract €50,000 from the average ship.' I support every city, region and nation making choices about taxes and tourism. But every tourist has choice, too.