Students, Progress, and Collaboration at the Heart of Latest Visit to India

In December I traveled again to India for a whirlwind visit alongside our Deputy Director Neetisha Besra, covering four states in six days– a testament to the bustling diversity and dynamism of India!

In the spirit of sharing and connectivity, here are some of the details of our sojourn which deepened our collaborative ties and offered us valuable perspectives from the communities we strive to unite and serve.

After arriving in New Delhi late, the first stop the next morning was to Bengaluru, where we had the pleasure of meeting with Ajit Isaac, Founder of Quess Corp, a businesses service provider that is currently placing over 550,000 employees across nine countries.  Mr. Isaac’s blend of business acumen and philanthropic commitment left us inspired. He and his wife have donated 105 crore to establish a School of Public Health at the Indian Institute of Science, with a vision for rivaling the accomplishments of the Bloomberg School of Public health here at Johns Hopkins University – the #1 school of public health in the United States.  The Isaac’s have also funded a specialized children’s hospital, educational opportunities, programs to support equal access to sports, and many other programs and projects. Our conversations explored the need for the development of researchers throughout India and the strengthening of public health resources and education.  We look forward to partnering with Mr. Isaac and his foundation to implement that vision.

Next, a flight to Chandigarh presented us with the opportunity to spend the day with the visionary minds at Plaksha University, thanks to Hitesh and Rimy Oberoi, Founders of Plaksha, and parents of a current JHU student. At Plaksha we met with the enthusiastic and forward-thinking faculty team, led by Rudra Pratap, Founding Vice Chancellor.  We engaged with their faculty and underscored the critical role of education in engineering the future. Plaksha’s unique vision of educating engineers without silos is visionary and inspiring, and their facilities are state of the art. We will seek ways to collaborate in the future.

Back to New Delhi we went for an engaging dialogue with Dr. Rakesh Kumar, Chief Executive Office of the WISH Foundation, India, whose focus is strengthening primary health care. Dr Kumar’s experience with the India government in scaling primary healthcare efforts are impressive and his insights and partnership are valuable to the efforts of GKII. The interest of the WISH Foundation with Artificial Intelligence and its potential capacity to aid in healthcare is also a pillar of interest for GKII, as is the eradication of tuberculosis.

We benefitted from a similar timezone for a virtual meeting with Vandna Ramchandani of Bloomberg to learn about the Bloomberg approach to philanthropy in India.  Bloomberg is working on “Data for Good” with DASRA philanthropy within India, along with supporting women to develop in Finance/Technology and STEM, and addressing climate issues. We look forward to partnering with them on these important efforts.

For the first time, I had the opportunity to meet in person the new members of our dedicated Gupta-Klinsky India Institute team, Ira Pundeer, our communications specialist, and Dr. Meghashish Sharma, our program manager. These interactions reinforced the importance of our collective mission and the strength of our team in driving our initiatives.  Meeting people in person in this “virtual age” is strange…having seen people on zoom calls for countless hours – creates familiarity – yet meeting someone in person is irreplaceable.

Our team, including Drs. Brian Wahl and Vidya Mave, had the pleasure of meeting with Genessa Giorgi – Mission India, Health Attaché, Dr. Melissa Nyendak Director – Division of Global HIV and TB – CDC, Dr. Amar Shah – Dr. TB Advisory USAID India. We shared the GKII proposal for TB Free Kids that is in partnership with the India national and state governments with our colleagues and reviewed the approach and strategies. The TB Free Kids Initiative that GKII is undertaking is a five state effort to address TB in school age children, as 20% of Indian children are infected with latent TB by age 18, and there is currently no routine screening for TB disease or infection in this population. In our efforts to contribute support to India as it reaches for a TB Free India, we believe this is an opportunity for prevention which can support this important goal.

 

The day concluded with the opportunity to meet with the parents of some JHU students. We were joined by Anshu and Deepak Azad, Hitesh and Rimy Oberoi and two JHU alumni – Dr. Indu Bushan and Damini Agarwal.  A good time was had by all as experiences and accomplishments from JHU were shared.  There is significant agreement that GKII and JHU are well served to strengthen our alumni within India. GKII is taking on this challenge and looking to find all JHU alums in India.  Take a moment to complete this alumni identification form and join the network.

The next morning began with a flight to Mumbai. We convened a wonderful dinner with parents of current JHU students and listened to their thoughts and insights on their students’ experience. The parents echo their student’s enthusiasm of Johns Hopkins University.  They all report happiness with having met a diverse and supportive community as students transition away from home, largely for the first time. (And perhaps there could be some improvement to the cafeteria offerings 😊)  The parents are enthusiastic about their student’s scholarship and growing interest in research.  (JHU is the first and today the largest funded research university within the United States). Hearing firsthand the positive impact of our institute’s efforts on these families was profoundly affirming.

Our trip concluded with another evening event – this time hosted at the beautiful home of Sunil and Anubhuti Sanghai (parents of a JHU student). The Sanghai’s hosted a delicious dinner to bring together their friends and colleagues who have aligned interests with Johns Hopkins. A warm gathering with many interesting friends interested in health, technology and education– a brilliant way to conclude this very busy and productive journey.

Reflecting on our journey, we are reminded of the power of shared goals and the impact of collective action. The insights gained and the partnerships forged or strengthened during this trip are vital steps towards our shared vision of fostering innovation, improving health, and enhancing education. GKII will spend the next year continuing our work to strengthen the ties that unite JHU and India through communication, collaboration, creating community, and convening towards catalyzing progress on important issues like education, health and technology.

We are immensely grateful for the support and enthusiasm of our community, both near and far. Your belief in our mission fuels our commitment to making a difference, together.