A historic interinstitutional alliance between Sri Ramachandra Medical School & Research Institute (Deemed University) at Porur, Tamil Nadu, in India, and Harvard Medical International has been executed.

The agreement was signed recently by the chairman of the board of directors of Harvard Medical International Inc., Daniel C. Tosteson, who is also Dean of the Medical School, and by N.P.V. Ramasamy Udayar, chancellor of Sri Ramachandra Medical College and Research Institute (SRMC&RI) and managing trustee of Sri Ramachandra Educational and Health Trust, the board of governance of SRMC&RI. The agreement will extend for five years beginning in April 1997 and ending in March 2002, and will be renewable.

Foremost, the alliance is a mutual commitment by the participating institutions to strengthen the medical education and research programs at Sri Ramachandra, and reflects the vision of the founding trustees of the Sri Ramachandra Health Trust. From the outset in 1985, the trustees affirmed aspirations to build an institution in India which would conform with international standards and expectations.

N.P.V. Ramasamy Udayar approached Harvard Medical International (HMI) in 1996. After a year of conferring and interacting, the principals of the two institutions resolved to sponsor academic programs that offer opportunities to enrich scholarship and learning experiences for faculty and students at Sri Ramachandra Medical College and Harvard Medical School (HMS) and to undertake a challenging program of self-evaluation by SRMC&RI. The initiatives and programs under the aegis of the alliance will enable:

¥ collaboration by HMS and SRMC&RI in teaching, learning, and research

¥ support by HMI for the development of academic resources at SRMC&RI, including specialized clinical facilities

¥ promotion of scholarly exchanges between HMS and SRMC&RI

¥ counsel and assistance by HMI and HMS in implementing curriculum development and reform at SRMC&RI

¥ advancement of projects for improving management systems at SRMC&RI with the aim of measuring the effectiveness of protocols for the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disease and for improving the quality of medical care.

In reacting to the announcement, Udayar said: "The College of Medicine is continually being developed, and we are very pleased to have the support from Harvard which we believe will enhance significantly the quality of medical education we can offer. We are committed firmly to producing skilled graduates who will be a benefit to both Tamil Nadu, India and the wider world we live in."

Tosteson is also very pleased by the association. "At Harvard we are keen to work with educational institutes which share our mission to improve health care through excellence in clinical medicine and medical education." The president and chief executive of Harvard Medical International, Robert Crone, underlines this sentiment: "My colleagues at Harvard Medical International have been very impressed with the energy and enthusiasm within Sri Ramachandra, and we very much look forward to working with the faculty and students of the Medical College."

At Sri Ramachandra Medical College and Research Institute, the programs sponsored by the alliance will be conducted under the leadership of Professor T.K. Partha Sarathy, the vice-chancellor, who commented, "We are extremely happy to have this alliance. It will help us to perform a comprehensive review of our current systems, and ultimately to develop educational programs which are administered under guidelines, policies, and procedures that match the standards used for the accreditation of American medical schools. Everyone in the organization is very excited about it."

The academic alliance with SRMC&RI will be administered at HMI by Mitchell Spellman in his role as director of International Exchange Programs.