South Asia

Partners in South Asia

Durham University has a long-standing history of engagement with South Asia, including links in Nepal, India and Pakistan.Our academics collaborate in world leading research with partners across a range of projects from earthquakes, archaeology, finance to astronomy.

Discover our work in other global regions

Durham University has a long-standing history of engagement with South Asia, including links in Nepal, India and Pakistan. Engagement with South Asia is through bilateral and multilateral research which ranges from areas like astronomy, landslides and earthquakes, physics, music and tropical diseases, direct tie-up with Institutions, involvement with alumni and education consultant partners, scholarship agencies, UK’s international organisations for cultural relations and educational opportunities such as the British Council and UKIERI, memberships of networks like the Association of Commonwealth Universities (ACU) and more.

In India, Durham University is actively seeking to enhance and strengthen its presence. To achieve this, the University has set up an India team based in the UK India Business Council, Gurgaon in April 2020 to promote and sustain partnerships, research links and recruitment.

You can contact our India-based team here.

This section highlights some of the collaborative research and other activities with our partners in South Asia.

Collaborating for Impact

Explore a snapshot of our collaborative work with our partners in South Asia

Durham cements partnership with Delhi University

A senior delegation from Delhi University visited Durham in June. As part of the visit, we signed an MoU to promote research and education collaborations.

Strengthening our partnerships in India

In May we celebrated our long-standing partnership with the Maharaja Sayajirao University (MS University) of Baroda.

A group of people looking at the camera and smiling.

Strengthened connections with the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras

We are delighted to announce the signing of a memorandum of understanding with the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras).

A group of people standing in front of a sign that says Indian Institute of Technology Madras

Understanding Pilgrimage and Heritage in India

A series of projects aim to explore and identify the potential social and economic impacts of pilgrimage on heritage, as well as on local communities.

Photograph of two men talking in front of brightly coloured shops

Heritage protection in a humanitarian crisis

Durham University’s UNESCO Chair on Archaeological Ethics and Practice in Cultural Heritage invited by the Government of Nepal and UNESCO to assess damaged monuments.

Post-Earthquake Rescue Archaeology in Kathmandu

Following two major earthquakes in Nepal, structural subsurface remains were assessed to inform plans for the reconstruction of destroyed temples and monuments.

Durham-led research network rises to the challenge of neglected tropical diseases

The NTD comprises of an international consortium of academic researchers from South America, Asia and the UK, seeking solutions to leishmaniasis and Chagas disease.

Give bidi cigarette rollers a voice to find new jobs, researchers say

The study was funded by the Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) and carried out through Christian Medical College (CMC) Vellore, India, and Durham University, UK.

Promoting the Protection of Heritage Sites in Nepal

The accelerated development of Buddhist pilgrimage prompted the co-production of resolutions to enhance protection and rehabilitation of heritage sites in Nepal.

Photograph of a small local community gathering

Development of new anti-leishmanial drugs for Indian communities

Leishmaniasis (a 'Neglected Tropical Disease') is a major health hazard in India. Researchers are working together to develop new drugs with better delivery.

Stock imagery of medicines and pharmaceuticals, originally Division of Pharmacy

Establishing routes for sustainable education in Pakistan and India

As school enrolment in these regions is lower than targets within SDG 4, patterns of children enrolment and school readiness are examined by several factors.

Primary school pupils in class practicing writing.

MoU Signed with Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar

Durham has signed of an Agreement of Cultural, Educational and Scientific Cooperation with Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar (IITGN), India.

Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar (IITG) Campus

Creating sustainable deltas across Asia

Deltas are vital social-ecological systems threatened by human exploitation, environmental degradation and climate change. This Hub aims to develop new policies.

South Asian Students and Scholars

We welcome several hundred students from the South Asian region annually. Scholarship options like Commonwealth, STEM scholarship for women and Vice Chancellor India Scholarship have brought in high quality students and distinguished scholars to Durham to experience British culture.

Explore our International Scholarships Pages

Studying at Durham with a Scholarship like Chevening is a matter of privilege for me. I completed my studies in India from Kashmir University - I considered studying abroad to broaden my scope of learning and to experience a new culture. I learnt about Chevening Scholarship from my friend and I am so excited and humbled to see how organic the selection process was. I had a very smooth transition to Durham from India and I am very pleased with my choice to study Twentieth and Twenty-First Century Literary Studies.

Maria Shawl

Durham University India Chevening Scholar 2020

Find out more about studying at Durham

Alumni in South Asia

We have established a presence in key world cities, to enhance engagement with our growing alumni including in South Asia and unlock the opportunities for new innovative collaborative programmes.

Visit our alumni community

Partner with us

We have over 250 joint publications with colleagues from Indian and other South Asian institutions and we have been collaborating on several funded projects in areas of priority in South Asian countries, such as Health, Engineering, Heritage and Biosciences.

Interested to partner with us? Contact us