"Let there be more international students in Nepal"

the_farsight · "Let there be more international students in Nepal"

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In this second episode of the FSi podcast, we talk with Prof. Uddhab Pyakurel who has been teaching at Kathmandu University School of Arts for over eight years now and also currently heads as the Director of Global Engagement Division.

The global engagement division facilitates several student exchange programs across the world from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras to Western Sydney University — allowing both Nepali and international students to become the nation’s ambassadors and promote and cultivate positive perceptions of Nepal. 

Dr. Pyakurel, who has a keen interest in Nepal’s international relations, emphasises that such initiatives not only shape Nepal’s global social capital but also can be extended to educational tourism. For that, the government must prioritise international students — for instance — simplify the visa process and fees for them and extend adequate support to universities, and budgetary support to extend scholarship opportunities to international students. 

The conversation also touches upon Pyakurel’s two papers — one on the 250 years of Nepal’s foreign policy and international relations and the second, limitations of Nepal-China border relations and its implications for Nepal on China’s BRI initiatives.

Dr. Pyakurel holds a Ph.D. from the Centre for the Study of Social Systems at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi. He has worked in fields such as poverty, development, people’s participation, social inclusion/exclusion, state restructuring, conflict, identity, democracy, election, Indo-Nepal relations, and other socio-political issues.