Delegations of MIT-WPU and Berlin School of Business and Innovation during the MoU signing event

Pune: MIT World Peace University (MIT-WPU) inked a strategic memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Berlin School of Business and Innovation (BSBI), Germany, to strengthen academic collaboration, joint research and global learning opportunities.The partnership is aimed at facilitating academic and cultural exchanges, collaborative research projects, international mobility programmes and technology-enabled learning initiatives to equip students with global competencies.The agreement was signed between Rahul V Karad, executive president of MIT-WPU, and Kyriakos Kouveliotis, provost of BSBI and chief academic officer of Global University Systems, Germany. The event was attended by Shiv Tripathi, dean of the faculty of economics and business administration at BSBI, and Ganesh Pokale, registrar of MIT-WPU.Speaking at the event, Karad said, “The collaboration would create new opportunities for the academic community by connecting students and faculty with international institutions. This partnership was about building bridges that enable knowledge sharing, innovation and meaningful global engagement”.Kouveliotis described the agreement as the beginning of a new phase in India-Europe academic collaboration. He said the two institutions would immediately work towards student and faculty exchange programmes, reciprocal academic visits and collaborative research projects.Addressing the faculty members at MIT-WPU, Kouveliotis spoke about the changing role of artificial intelligence (AI) in higher education. He said AI should be used to automate routine administrative work, such as formatting and curriculum updates, allowing educators to devote more time to mentoring students and strengthening classroom engagement.He cautioned against viewing AI merely as a tool to reduce costs. He said institutions should instead use the technology to improve the quality of education and create richer learning experiences.Highlighting international student mobility, Kouveliotis said nearly 70% of students across the five German institutions he oversees are from India. While overseas education offers valuable exposure, he said Indian universities should increasingly bring global quality education to their campuses so that students can access international opportunities without necessarily leaving the country.