LSE has a long-standing association with Asia. Historically, it has attracted very talented students and staff from all major Asian countries. It has a large and distinguished group of alumni in the region and has been active in building partnerships with business and government for many years.
As one of the world's leading universities, LSE has been at the forefront of the analysis of globalisation and is the alma mater of many public leaders in Asia. The School now has a clear strategy to develop its historical relationship with this rapidly developing region.
This strategy is part of the School's wider international strategy, an important plank of which is the development of alliances and partnerships. These alliances are creating the potential for us to offer a truly international education through dual degree programmes and PhD exchanges, creating favourable conditions for international collaborative research (and associated funding) and increasing our capacity to engage in projects that as a single institution we could not entertain.
One of our key partners in Asia at present is Peking University, with which we offer the Summer Programme (see Summer Schools|) and the two-year dual degree programme in International History. Since 2004 we have run the LSE-Peking Lecture Series in Social Sciences. We have recently agreed a PhD exchange programme with the Department of Government.
We also have good links with Fudan University and as part of Fudan's centenary celebrations in 2005 co-hosted a two-day conference on social policy: Social Science in the Twenty First Century: a China-UK dialogue on problems and opportunities. Since 2004 the School has had a full-time representative in China (see LSE China|).
In India our current strategy is to renew and develop our strong links with Indian academic institutions, government and corporate bodies to exchange knowledge and contribute to broader policy issues. To sustain and develop LSE's partnership with India, we have created a permanent presence in India through an office in New Delhi. In recent years we have established very good relationships with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), ICICI, the Institute for Financial Management and Research (IFMR), the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Sir Ratan Tata Foundation. We are working at various levels with the Delhi School of Economics, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) and Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS). (See LSE-India|.)
While we have paid specific attention to China and India in recent years we are also active in the Asia region both through normal academic research links and through the active work of local alumni groups. We have academic, corporate and professional links throughout the whole of Asia. There are over 15,000 LSE alumni in south east Asia who are represented by a number of extremely active country-based alumni groups.
The groups carry out a number of functions on behalf of the School, such as hosting academic visits and acting as a contact point for prospective students. Most importantly the groups offer many opportunities for alumni to participate in academic, professional and social events and activities. These are designed to keep alumni, in their own countries and throughout the region, in beneficial relationships with one another and to further their links with LSE.
There are alumni groups based in Bahrain, Bangladesh, Brunei, China, Hong Kong, India, Israel, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Korea, Lebanon, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates.
Contact details for these alumni groups and others around the world can be found at Alumni Relations|.
LSE has recently opened offices in New Delhi, India and Beijing, China. The School is pursuing a range of partnerships with leading Asian universities and corporations as well as interacting with governments and governmental agencies. LSE views these partnerships as a vital part of its overall global network, which allows for truly global knowledge-exchange, policy development and scientific cooperation.
LSE China
Dr Brendan Smith (b.p.smith1@lse.ac.uk|) has headed LSE's partnership programs with academics, alumni and corporates in China since 2003. See LSE China|.
LSE India
Ruth Kattumuri (r.kattumuri@lse.ac.uk|) has headed LSE's partnership with academics, alumni and corporates in India for over a year. See LSE-India|.