GKII's Mission Statement

The Gupta Klinsky India Institute at Johns Hopkins was established in 2020 to actively foster collaborations between JHU and India’s leaders across government, academia, civil society, and the private sector. Our mission is to harness the collective expertise and resources from both entities to advance human knowledge and cultivate innovative solutions that benefit the global community.

GKII accomplishes its mission through 5 C’s – Convening, Coordinating, Communicating, Creating Community, and Catalyzing efforts to create tangible impact in society. GKII works to create synergies across all divisions of the university that are working in partnership with India – creating a “Superhighway” of activity to enrich all communities. We build a sense of community across all audiences by raising awareness about our extensive activities and developments. We also coordinate events to maximize outcomes and convene stakeholders to share knowledge, foster collaboration, and build connections among the various individuals and groups at JHU who are interested in India. These efforts aim to generate results that benefit JHU, its partners in India, and the global community.

Our 5 C’s

We Catalyze. GKII sparks new partnerships and opportunities by providing resources, connections, and catalytic funding, such as research and travel grants, to encourage JHU faculty and students to collaborate with partners in India.

 

We Coordinate. At JHU, GKII strives to be the central hub for all things related to India and in India, all things about JHU. We facilitate coordination among various entities within JHU and India to ensure smooth operations and effective collaboration.

 

We Communicate. GKII actively shares information about Hopkins’ work in India with key stakeholders, enhancing the visibility of our faculty, students, and alumni’s efforts in India . We do so through our bi-monthly newsletter, social media and website.

 

We Convene. GKII brings together key stakeholders to discuss critical issues, promoting the exchange of knowledge and fostering collaboration in research, education, policy, and practice, through seminars, webinars and conferences.

 

We build Community. We aim to be a valuable resource for our key constituencies—faculty, alumni, students, partners, and donors—helping them establish and strengthen their relationships with JHU and our work in India.

Our Three Core Pillars

GKII mobilizes Hopkins faculty, staff, students and alumni to work with partners in India to improve society through three strategic directions: research, education, and policy and practice.

Research

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Breakthrough research grants are a flagship program of GKII to support early stage JHU faculty members to collaborate with an Indian partner offering potential co-funding to pilot projects in multidisciplinary and urgent areas of research. The Gupta-Klinsky India Institute has launched three Breakthrough Research Grant challenges so far, focusing on the fields of Noncommunicable Diseases, Climate and Health, and Health Data Research. The Breakthrough Research Grants Program has provided funding for six different pilot projects led by faculty members from Johns Hopkins University and applicable partner institutions that involved interdisciplinary collaborations and continues to grow annually.

Education

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Promoting and establishing educational opportunities for students and professionals at all stages of their careers is a key agenda for GKII as we work to establish India-led initiatives. Our Girish and Himangi Rishi Student Travel Grant aims to build the next generation of thought leaders and researchers in India by facilitating Johns Hopkins students in conducting research and immersive field studies at JHU sites under the Center for Global Health. The Johns Hopkins Center for Bioengineering Innovation & Design and GKII work together to develop impactful healthcare solutions that enhance the lives of patients by fostering solutions to ensure their relevance and viability within the Indian healthcare ecosystem. Through faculty and alumni-led workshops and training, GKII also aims to nurture leadership excellence, enhance skills, and foster collaboration among professionals in various fields, contributing to their personal and career development through workshops and seminars like Nurturing Leadership Excellence at LBSNAA and Grant Writing Success.

Policy & Practice

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Effecting lasting change and shaping the future through policy and practice is a final pillar in our agenda, reflected by our high-level events.  We are an Anchor Partner with the U.S.-India Alliance for Women’s Economic Empowerment, supporting Women and Girls in STEM by generating interest at an early age, creating incentives for STEM careers, and equipping them with the necessary skills for the labor market. We also host the Primary Health Care (PHC) Symposium where JHU faculty and India-based project teams gather in Delhi for engaging panel discussions and interactive sessions on emerging issues in primary health care in India and potential research and collaboration opportunities to address them, to tackle challenges, to foster collaboration, and to identify future research areas and partnerships for PHC initiatives in India.