Anglican Communion News Service

From Canterbury Christ Church University website

Canterbury Christ Church University has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Lady Doak College in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, southern India.

The agreement will consolidate links between the institutions and help them to work together on future academic projects. One potential project, led by Dr Alex Kent from the University’s Department of Geographical and Life Science, aims to identify and map factors influencing food security and environmental quality in a series of nine villages in southern India.

Building on existing links Lady Doak College shares with the local communities in Tamil Nadu, Dr Kent will look to encourage villagers to share their expertise and local knowledge to help map land use, rural road networks, irrigation channels, and drinking water pipelines, as well as analyse proximity to agricultural markets. The information will be used to evaluate existing environmental quality and try to improve rural development, while helping the communities gain a greater sense of awareness of environmental and health issues which relate directly to everyday life, from access to clean drinking water and agricultural markets, to the condition of local infrastructure and effective waste disposal.

Professor Margaret Andrews, Pro Vice-Chancellor (Students), and Peter Milburn, Director of the University's Medway Campus, visited Lady Doak College in Madurai last month to mark the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the two institutions.

Peter Milburn said: “The signing of the Memorandum of Understanding with Lady Doak College represents another important international academic development for the University. Importantly the research being carried out by both institutions will have a direct and beneficial impact on the communities of Tamil Nadu.

“Through the signing of this memorandum the links between our two institutions will be further strengthened and provide a platform to future collaboration and partnership.”

Both institutions are leading members of The Colleges and Universities of the Anglican Communion, a world-wide association of over 120 institutions of higher education, promoting and supporting partnership and collaborative research and development between Christian Foundation universities and colleges throughout the world.

Notes to Editor

Canterbury Christ Church University is a modern university with a particular strength in higher education for the public services. With nearly 20,000 students, and five campuses across Kent and Medway, its courses span a wide range of academic and professional subject areas.

• We are the third highest university in England for student employability, with 94.3% of our recent graduates in employment or further study six months after graduating*.
• Christ Church is the number one choice for local people looking to study at university in Kent (2010 UCAS).
• We are the South East’s largest provider of courses for public service careers (outside of London).
• 2012 is the University’s Golden Jubilee, reflecting on 50 years of higher education and innovation.

*2009/10 Destination of Leavers from Higher Education survey

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