India-EU emerging as third pillar will change the world order: Ex-envoy to France

Manipal: “India and European Union together can emerge as the third pillar in a multipolar, post-globalization world,” said Dr Mohan Kumar, former Ambassador to France while addressing the 2019 batch of students who have joined MA in European Studies and BA in Foreign Languages and Intercultural Studies. He spoke of the fascinating opportunity foreign services provided in this context, for one to be a change agent and make a difference in the world.

Laying emphasis on the immense potential that India and EU partnership hold in the present world order, he alluded to the relevance of and the diverse pathways both Master’s in European Studies and Bachelor’s Foreign Languages and Intercultural Studies open up.

Manipal Academy of Higher Education hosted the Orientation Day for two unique programmes, Master of Arts in European Studies and Bachelor of Arts in Foreign Languages and Intercultural Studies (BA FLIS) with Dr Mohan Kumar, former ambassador of India to France, as Chief Guest.

“This year is especially significant for MAHE on the occasion of two new departments being carved out from the Manipal Centre for European studies (MCES) – the Department of Languages, hosting the BA FLIS programme and also the Department of Philosophy – as it reinforces the university’s renewed support to the growth of Humanities and Social Sciences,” said Dr H Vinod Bhat, in his presidential address at the event.

Mr Rahul Putty, Coordinator of the Department of Languages welcomed the gathering. Dr Neeta Inamdar, Professor and Head, Manipal Centre for European Studies, recounted the decade-long growth of the Centre and the MAES programme since its inception in 2009. She added that the Jean Monnet Centre of Excellence awarded by the European Union to MCES last year was another milestone in its journey. The Orientation Day also dedicated a session for students to interview the former ambassador