New Delhi [India], January 29 (ANI): There is huge opportunity for institutions in India and United Kingdom to collaborate to build the next generation of future-ready talent in the creative industries, Country Director of British Council in India, Alison Barrett, has said and noted that more British Universities are expected to set up their campuses in India apart from nine announced earlier.

Speaking with ANI on the sidelines of the Delhi edition of 'Creative Convergence: Growth Reimagined' being held at the British Council, Barrett said she expects to see a much stronger connection between the universities in the two countries in the creative industries of two countries.

'I really expect to see in the next 10 years a much stronger connection between our universities in the creative industries. I think there is so much opportunity for our institutions to collaborate to really build the next generation of future-ready talent in the creative industries, whether that's in podcasting or filmmaking or fashion or design and there are so many ways that our institutions can partner, whether it's through joint masters programs or joint undergraduate programs, through British students coming here to India to do internships in the creative industry sectors and to learn from the opportunities and the approaches to scale that you have here,' she said.

'There are nine British universities setting up campuses here in India and we expect more in the coming years, there are more opportunities for UK universities to be part of that ecosystem working with industry and to ensure that there's a sort of flow of talent between our countries for many years to come,' she added.

During UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer's visit to India in October last year, he and Prime Minister Narendra Modi acknowledged education as a key area of bilateral cooperation and both sides expressed happiness on the progress in opening the campuses of nine leading UK universities in India.

The two leaders underlined the importance of youth, cultural and educational exchanges in shaping the future of the bilateral relationship. They expressed commitment to the first Annual Ministerial Strategic Education Dialogue, and the implementation of the Programme of Cultural Co-operation signed by both Ministers of Culture in May 2025.

A joint statement said that the University of Southampton has welcomed its inaugural cohort of Indian students to its campus in Gurugram.

It said the University Grants Commission has also handed over Letters of Intent (LoI) for the establishment of branch campuses of the University of Liverpool, the University of York, University of Aberdeen and University of Bristol in India.

Queen's University of Belfast and Coventry University have been authorised to open their branch campuses in GIFT City.

Indian authorities also handed over the LoI for the opening of campus of Lancaster University in Bengaluru and accorded in-principle approval for the opening of the campus of the University of Surrey in GIFT City, the statement said.

During PM Modi's visit to the United Kingdom in July last year, both sides signed the historic India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) and adopted the India - UK Vision 2035 and a Defence Industrial Roadmap.

Speaking with ANI on Thursday, Ruth Mackenzie, Global Director of Arts, British Council, said that creative industries of India and the UK are world-leading.

'They are both enormously important to the economies of India and the United Kingdom and to the population... They are also a source of money for both these countries at a time when these countries are both growing their economies as fast as they can... All of the creative industries are a way to join up communities across the world and most particularly between India and the United Kingdom,' Mackenzie said.

'Festivals contribute enormously not just to their local economy but to the economy of the country as a whole. For example in London, 4 of 5 tourists say they come to London for the culture and creativity and of course we have many examples here in India as well... Our creatives are not just making their own work and selling their own work across the world, they're also creating attractions that bring visitors from all around the world to benefit the economies in India and the United Kingdom... The great thing about this conference... is about learning and what we see in today's discussions is how much the United Kingdom have to learn from India,' she added.

The British Council, the UK's international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities, inaugurated the Delhi edition of Creative Convergence: Growth Reimagined today at the British Council here.

Building on the momentum of the inaugural Bengaluru edition held in November 2025, the two-day gathering has policymakers, researchers, creative entrepreneurs and cultural leaders from India and the UK to reimagine the future of the creative economy.

Creative Convergence advances the objectives of the India-UK Programme of Cultural Cooperation (2025-2030) and reflects the British Council's long-standing commitment to strengthening international creative ecosystems, a release said.

The Delhi edition places a strong emphasis on policy dialogue, research and creative enterprise - exploring how aligned frameworks and cross-border collaboration can enable inclusive, sustainable and future-ready growth.

The event opened with the Plenary and Keynote session - 'Creative Convergence: Where Bold Ideas and Future-Ready Ecosystems Meet' - which set the strategic vision for the initiative and framed the role of the creative economy in policy, innovation and India-UK collaboration. (ANI)