The Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) and the National University Singapore (NUS) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the establishment of the Council’s Short-Term Chair of Indian Studies at the NUS.

An official press release said the Chair would function under the aegis of the university’s Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS).

The MoU was signed by Mr Tsewang Namgyal, Deputy High Commissioner of India in Singapore on behalf of ICCR and Dr Brenda S A Yeoh, Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASS) on behalf of the NUS on March 22.

Under the terms of agreement, ICCR, in consultation with the University, shall appoint a suitable Indian academician to hold the Chair for a period of one year. During his/her term, the Visiting Professor would contribute to the academic life of the University by engaging in teaching, research and mentoring at various levels. The Chair would commence from July, 2010. The MoU would remain valid for three years from 2010.

The NUS is a prestigious university with over 30,000 students of 100 countries from diverse social and cultural backgrounds, which make it an appropriate place to institute an India Chair, the release said.

The establishment of the Chair would be an important step in furthering ICCR’s larger mandate of fostering and strengthening educational and cultural bonds and towards enhancing academic knowledge and awareness about India, through exchange of academicians, it added.

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