Toronto, March 1 (IANS) Twenty-five Indian vice-chancellors will participate in the Canada-India Education Summit to be held at Ottawa’s Carleton University as part of the Year of India in Canada.

The two-day education summit will be held May 16 and 17.

A statement Monday said Carleton University will host the summit in collaboration with the Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute, the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (Canada), the Indian high commission and the Association of Colleges and Universities of Canada (AUCC).

The Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute promotes academic activities and exchanges between the two countries.

As part of the summit, roundtables will be held on ‘student and faculty exchanges, joint programmes and degrees, twinning arrangements, credit transfers, accreditation issues, mutual recognition of degrees, co-tutelle (joint supervision) possibilities for doctoral students, application of technology in education – especially distance learning – and public and private ventures in education,’ said the statement by Carleton University.

A delegation of 25 vice-chancellors from Indian universities will join their Canadian counterparts to deepen bilateral educational ties which got a big boost with the November visit to India by a delegation of the Association of Colleges and Universities of Canada (AUCC).

Prof Sunaina Singh, president of the Shastri Institute, said the summit will build upon the the higher education agreement signed by the prime ministers of the two countries in June last year.

Carleton University president Roseann Runte, who has just returned from India, said the education summit will part of the scheduled activities of the Canada-India Centre for Excellence in Science, Technology, Trade and Policy at Carleton and of the Year of India.’

Carleton is the only university in the world to have a full-fledged India-centric Centre of Excellence in Science, Technology, Trade and Policy to raise awareness about bilateral studies and public diplomacy, and develop initiatives to build a better understanding of both countries.

(Gurmukh Singh can be contacted at gurmukh.s@ians.in)