I am delighted that Queen’s University, Belfast, is building on its connections with Hyderabad University to develop this online pilot course on one of the most important issues of our time, ageing; reflecting our commitment to social and civic responsibility, locally and globally.
The approach taken by Professors Pramod K Nayar and Anna Kurian in Hyderabad and Professor Tess Maginess in Queen’s is imaginative in using literature as a pedagogic lens and in developing a much more holistically global understanding through exploring creative work from the global south and global north.
The pilot course is also innovative in bringing together older students from Queen’s Open Learning Continuing Education Programme with young students from Hyderabad’s Master’s English Programme, thus fostering intergenerational understanding and a sense of human interdependency.
This pilot programme embeds many elements of our University’s Strategy 2030, including delivering outstanding teaching and learning, focused on the needs of our society, locally and globally. The course demonstrates how we can fulfil the goals of offering an international experience to our students and enhancing our international networks and partnerships, complementing other partnership programmes with India. The very attractive and well-designed course website reflects our commitment to innovation in online learning and teaching and to widening access, made possible through our Collaborative online international learning fund.

I wish to thank all those involved in creating this pilot, especially our esteemed colleagues in India, Professor Pramod K Nayar and Professor Anna Kurian and to Professor Tess Maginess, who initiated the project and Dr Federica Ferrieri, who designed the website.
I am confident that the diverse cohorts of students will gain much in sharing this rich and stimulating course.

Professor, Sir Ian Greer
Vice-Chancellor
Queen’s University, Belfast

I congratulate Professors Tess Maginess of Queen's University Belfast, and Pramod K. Nayar and Anna Kurian of the UNESCO Chair in Vulnerability Studies, Department of English, the University of Hyderabad for launching this very unique joint teaching program on the topic ‘Tattered Coat, Magic Stick: Imagining Ageing through Literature from the Global South and Global North’ from 16 Jan’24. It is an extra credit course for UoH students. This is the very first joint teaching program from the Dept of English, UoH.
 
The course has been co-developed between Queen’s University’s Open Learning programme and Hyderabad University’s Masters programme at the English department, UoH. Our graduate students at Hyderabad University, interested in interdisciplinary and intercultural perspectives will also benefit from this course. 
 
The course runs for 5 weeks examining literary texts that deal with ageing, the course texts primarily being chosen from a pool of relevant and prominent writers from the Global North and South. Indian and Irish students all working together will bring in a rich tapestry of inter-cultural experiential learning, the hall-mark of real educational experience. I applaud the course instructors and all its stakeholders for this unique effort and wish them all the best. 

Professor Basuthkar Jagadeeshwar Rao
Vice-Chancellor
University of Hyderabad