Anant National Univ & VCU Partner for Innovation Projects

Ahmedabad, Aug 6 (PTI) Ahmedabad-based Anant National University (ANU) on Tuesday entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) of the US to collaborate on initiatives that support community immersion and innovation for a global impact.

Through this partnership, the two institutions will work in media and entertainment, arts and product design, health research and entrepreneurship projects, ANU said in a statement, adding that the partnership will enable faculty and student exchanges, joint research projects and entrepreneurship initiatives, creating opportunities for academic growth and professional development.

Interacting with the media, ANU's Provost, Anunaya Chaubey said that the collaboration aligns with the 2020 National Education Policy (NEP) with its focus on internationalisation.

He also added that with the MoU, students and faculty members of the two institutions will visit each other and have access to many different contexts. They will work together across domains, with a primary focus on improving lives by solving problems.

"We want this to be a partnership focused on impact -- how are all the ways in which we do our work together going to have a positive impact on people, particularly people who need us the most, to take what we are doing and find solutions to problems," said Michael Rao, President, VCU.

ANU is a private university set up in 2016 and offers undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in design, architecture and built environment. VCU is a public research university based in Richmond in Virginia with a 186-year legacy, and ranks among the top 20 most innovative universities according to the US News and World Report.