UAlbany Expands Global Partnerships in India with Ramaiah Institute of Science and Management

By Bethany Bump

ALBANY, N.Y. (March 26, 2026) — The University at Albany this week announced a new knowledge partnership with the Ramaiah Institute of Science and Management (RISM), a new skill-focused university launching this fall in Bengaluru, India.

The partnership, which was formalized Thursday at a signing ceremony on the UAlbany campus following a multi-day visit by Ramaiah leadership, paves the way for both institutions to explore potential collaborations on academic programs, faculty development, research and student engagement opportunities.

“Global partnerships are essential to the University at Albany’s mission to educate engaged global citizens and this new knowledge partnership with the Ramaiah Institute of Science and Management is an important milestone," said UAlbany President Havidán Rodríguez. "RISM’s industry-aligned approach to education complements UAlbany’s deep teaching and research expertise in areas like computer science, engineering and nanotechnology. I look forward to continued collaboration between RISM and UAlbany that will benefit our students, faculty and communities."

The partnership continues UAlbany’s longstanding commitment to building strong international academic, research and workforce collaborations, and more recent efforts to expand the global reach and expertise of its high-tech workforce training programs.

“India is at an important stage in its development, with 65 percent of the population below 30 years old. To meet our needs, we need good higher education institutions,” said M.R. Jayaram, chairman of the Gokula Education Foundation (Medical) that manages RISM. “With 50 years of experience, I felt we must start a green field STEM and management university. That is how the Ramaiah Institute of Science and Management came into being, with a focus on outcome-based education, translational research and skill development. In the University at Albany, we have found a good partner strong in all three aspects. I’m grateful for the collaboration with President Rodríguez and the enthusiasm of the UAlbany team, and I look forward to seeing our partnership grow.”

RISM will offer majors in computer science, electrical engineering and aerospace engineering to start, with plans to expand to other areas in the future. As a designated “Skill University” in India, it is required to offer courses that emphasize practical skills with an eye toward employability. Such universities, which have been growing in India in recent years, are closely aligned to industry need, offering hands-on training that prepares students for specific job roles and industries.

Under the new partnership, UAlbany will provide guidance and consultation to RISM with curriculum and faculty development as it works to stand up its new programs. The universities also have agreed to explore potential collaborations down the road such as faculty exchanges and opportunities for students to take courses and engage in internships, service-learning activities and research at each other’s institutions.

“As higher education continues to evolve, partnerships like this one play a critical role in shaping how we prepare students for a global, innovation-driven economy," said UAlbany Provost Carol Kim. "Through our work with the Ramaiah Institute of Science and Management, we have an opportunity to share our strengths in emerging fields while supporting the development of dynamic, skills-focused academic programs. We are excited about the opportunities this collaboration creates for shared learning, faculty engagement and student success across both institutions, and we look forward to seeing its impact grow in the years ahead.”

Initial support for program development and benchmarking will come from UAlbany’s College of Nanotechnology, Science, and Engineering (CNSE), which is internationally renowned for its nanotechnology and semiconductor expertise and deep industry ties. The collaboration comes as the Government of India is working to ramp up the country’s domestic semiconductor manufacturing capacity, with hopes of doubling the sector’s economic output by 2030.

UAlbany first established a relationship with Ramaiah leadership in 2024 when President Rodríguez led a delegation to the Ramaiah University of Applied Sciences (RUAS) in Bengaluru, one of India’s leading private universities, to explore potential collaborations.

The delegation met with Jayaram, who is also chancellor of RUAS. He visited UAlbany in 2025 and the two universities announced a collaboration a few months later to allow RUAS students to enroll in UAlbany microcredentials in semiconductor engineering.

In January 2026, Rodríguez and a delegation of campus leaders visited India again and formalized a partnership with RUAS to collaborate on engineering education, advanced skills development, faculty and student exchange, joint capstone projects, curriculum co-design and translational research.

"For many years, CNSE has welcomed scores of students from India into our graduate programs," said CNSE Dean Michele J. Grimm. "The partnerships that we are developing with RUAS and RISM provide an opportunity to expand our connections with students, universities, and industries within India — in ways that we hope are mutually beneficial. We look forward to continuing to support the faculty of RUAS and RISM as they offer experience-based educational programs to their students and as we do the same, with the added benefit of international connections, to students at UAlbany.”