About OIA

The Office for International Affairs (OIA) was first established in 2006 as the International Students' Office (ISO) to facilitate mutually beneficial international academic exchanges and collaboration between TISS and foreign HEIs.

Since its inception, the OIA has worked pro-actively to establish international partnerships by facilitating MoUs and agreements between TISS and international institutions, developing proposals for collaboration, and providing the necessary administrative institutional support necessary to operationalise these partnerships and collaborations. TISS is one of the few Indian universities that has a full-fledged office dedicated to offering support and active engagement for internationalising higher education.

Objectives:

To facilitate and enhance the global visibility and profile of TISS
To develop, coordinate and strengthen international linkages
To initiate strategic cooperation between TISS & foreign HEIs
To facilitate, assist and help international students in their academic pursuits
To facilitate and assist Indian faculty and staff to progressively increase the scope of the Study in India Programmes and Study Abroad Programmes
To provide a base to assist international and Indian scholars for career advancement and contribute towards enhancing bilateral relations

The International Office plays an important role in operationalizing regular mobility programs and prestigious fellowships / scholarships. Over the years, the OIA has expanded its programmes and activities to match international standards. In March 2016, the OIA was given the status of an “Independent Resource Centre for Internationalizing Education (IRCIE)”, which is an important milestone in its emergence as an important office in TISS. From Students Office to Relations Office to now becoming IRCIE, the office is continually upgrading its skills to develop newer programmes and handle multiple activities. Since this change in nomenclature and the status, the OIA has witnessed immense growth in the number of programmes and interest in internationalization.

TISS has signed MoUs with some of the best institutions around the world and established linkages with universities and institutions in Asia, Africa, Europe, Australia and North America. The OIA plays an important role in liaising with various internal departments to facilitate the exchange of students / faculty / staff between TISS and foreign universities / students / individuals / researchers seeking admission or affiliation at the Institute.

Through Global Partnerships and Programmes that are part of the Institute’s commitment towards engaging and learning from a diverse student body, it actively collaborates with top universities and consortiums which includes numerous incoming student / faculty exchanges, co-teaching and credit sharing. Joint research, student exchange, faculty professional development and institutional capacity building are various facets of these connections.

Each year this platform is growing and we are receiving more students and faculty as well as sending TISS students abroad to complete an academic semester at the respective university. So far, we have had a wonderful experience and exposure in terms of the learnings our students have gained at these partner universities and in helping incoming students develop a new perspective and
exposure to Indian realities. Exchanges like these have made it possible to facilitate meaningful learning through our interdisciplinary and transnational teaching programme. Facilitating international mobility acts as a positive social multiplier. A mutually reciprocal cooperation helps in strengthening the values and ethos of the institute and offers an enriching learning experience for the Indian and international students and faculty.