Each year the British Council supports around 8 academics from UK universities to give lectures at selected universities in India. Through a competitive selection process, Dr Richard Thackray from the School of Chemical, Materials and Biological Engineering was chosen to represent the University of Sheffield. Each academic visits two cities. The purpose of the scheme is to promote the UK, the UK’s contribution to research and innovation, and to inspire young people
Dr Thackray visited the cities of Indore and Bhopal where he delivered 8 talks at different academic institutions to audiences ranging from 30 to 300 undergrads, postgrads and staff. The title of his talk was "Building a Greener Tomorrow: The Future of Sustainable Steel Production"
Reflecting about the trip, Dr Thackray said: “All of these institutions had a significant engineering offering, and at most of these I met with senior academic and administrative staff (Dean of College, Head of Department, International Director etc) and had a chance to tour the facilities and speak with some of the students.
“I also delivered the CV Raman Lecture at the Nehru Science Centre in Mumbai as part of National Science Day in India. The audience was comprised mainly of school and college students and it was really great to deliver such a prestigious lecture.
“The whole trip was really enjoyable and well organised. The talks went well, there was a lot of interest in the relevant UK and Sheffield based research that is happening, it was great to have the opportunity to speak with current students and staff, and I was made to feel really welcome at all of the places that I visited.”
Dr Thackray visited the following:
Indore
- Sage University
- IIT Indore
- Medicaps University
- Acropolis Institute of Technology and Research
Bhopal
- Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology
- Sagar Institute of Science and Technology
- Lakshmi Narain College of Technology
- University Institute of Technology