Universities for a Cause Bigger Than Themselves: Scotland’s First Minister at Ahmedabad University

Ahmedabad University was founded on a simple conviction: the problems worth solving rarely fit within a single discipline. That belief shapes how the University teaches, how it conducts research, and whom it chooses to work with. On 23 October 2026, it brought that conviction to a wider conversation.

The University hosted Scotland’s First Minister, John Swinney, along with university leaders from Scotland and Gujarat. The discussion was convened by the British Council, the Scottish Government, and the Government of Gujarat’s Higher Education Department, bringing public and private universities from across Gujarat to Ahmedabad. The question for the room was how universities can work collectively for a cause bigger than themselves.

The context is a world that young people see as increasingly unsettled. Environmental damage, shifting geopolitics, disruptive technologies, and extreme urbanisation are shaping their future, and many are anxious about it. These pressures cross borders, making countries more dependent on one another to find solutions for the next generation.

Ahmedabad University’s answer is collaborative global education with strong humanistic foundations. Education, it believes, shapes the values that hold people together, and cooperation and learning can help heal a fragmented world. India and Scotland share a purpose in this: preparing young people for a shared future, with the skills and values to build it.

Ahmedabad University discussed partnerships with Scottish universities around -

• Climate: The Climate Institute works on energy transitions, cities, settlements, and the air and water we depend on. Ahmedabad University has helped shape the UN Environment Programme’s (UNEP) Emissions Gap Report for several years running, including the 2026 edition published on 21 October.
• Cancer Biology: Catching cancer early can change everything, and the easiest tests are the ones people will actually take. At Ahmedabad University, researcher-led work on a saliva-based test for oral cancer aims to simplify early detection. The project has the backing of a DBT/Wellcome Trust India Alliance grant.
• Advanced Manufacturing: Making things well is what lets ideas reach people. At Ahmedabad University, the Institute of Manufacturing and Economy connects industry with research, and the School of Engineering and Applied Science works on production and additive manufacturing.
• Urbanisation: Most of the world’s growth in the coming decades will happen in cities, and the choices made now will shape how people live in them. At Ahmedabad University, researchers study how cities grow and what that means for the climate and for people’s health and wellbeing, with a particular focus on cities in the Global South.
• Fintech: Good financial technology starts with the people who build it. The GIFT International Fintech Institute, a consortium of Ahmedabad University, IIT Gandhinagar, and UC San Diego, develops the talent and research that India’s fintech sector needs.

Universities that cooperate across disciplines, sectors, and borders are better placed to prepare students for the problems they will inherit.

Ahmedabad University thanks the British Council for bringing the Scottish Government, the Government of Gujarat’s Higher Education Department, and the public and private universities of Gujarat together in Ahmedabad.