Hyderabad: Chief minister A Revanth Reddy on Friday used a high-profile visit to the University of Oxford to pitch state’s ‘Telangana Rising‘ vision, inviting the prestigious institution to establish a presence in Hyderabad and partner with the state in higher education, research and executive training programmes.As part of the Telangana Rising delegation’s UK tour, Revanth visited the nearly 900-year-old university and held discussions with Professor Maya Tudor of the Blavatnik School of Government and Professor Faisal Devji of Balliol College.During the interaction, the chief minister presented an overview of Telangana Rising and outlined the state’s ambition to transform Hyderabad into a global education hub. He invited Oxford University to leverage Hyderabad’s growing academic ecosystem by introducing executive education programmes, specialised research initiatives and other collaborative ventures in the city.K Ramakrishna Rao, advisor and ex-officio special chief secretary to the chief minister’s office, made a detailed presentation on opportunities available to foreign universities under the Centre’s National Education Policy. He highlighted the advantages of establishing academic and research partnerships in Hyderabad and Telangana.According to officials, Professors Tudor and Devji responded positively to the proposals and discussed multiple avenues for collaboration with the Telangana govt.The Telangana delegation also invited Oxford representatives to participate in the Telangana Rising Global Summit, scheduled to be held in Hyderabad on Dec 7, 8 and 9.Later, the chief minister visited the portrait of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi at Somerville College, Oxford, where she studied. The portrait was gifted to the college by Sonia Gandhi in 2002.In a separate engagement, Revanth visited the Utilita Bowl, a GMR Group-managed integrated sports and leisure complex. The facility includes a cricket stadium, golf course, hospitality infrastructure and other sports amenities.The chief minister held discussions with GMR representatives on the development of world-class sports infrastructure and invited the group to expand investments in Telangana’s sports ecosystem. Later in the evening, Revanth was scheduled to visit Emirates Stadium to watch an English Premier League match featuring reigning champions Arsenal and Coventry.
