Speakers
Tayyeb Shah
Adrian Mutton
Vidya Yeravdekar
Hege Kristin Widnes
Session
â Included for all participants
India is entering a pivotal moment in global higher education. With over 40 million students, it has one of the largest higher education systems in the world, and it is undergoing a profound transformation driven by the National Education Policy 2020. This session explores the full landscape of Europe–India higher education engagement, offering universities from Europe and beyond a strategic, evidence-based framework for building meaningful, long-term partnerships with India.
Adrian Mutton is the Founder and Executive Chairman of Sannam S4 Group and a recognised leader in international business development, market entry, and global expansion. With over 30 years of experience, he has helped companies, universities, and education organisations expand internationally across diverse markets.
Adrian began his entrepreneurial journey in India in 1993 and has lived and worked in New Delhi, London, Chicago, Johannesburg, Singapore, Washington, D.C., and Switzerland. Following a successful IPO and exit from a technology company in 2006, he travelled the world before founding Sannam S4 Group in New Delhi in 2008.
The same year, Adrian became the founding Country Director of the UK-India Business Council (UKIBC), where he developed an innovative trade support model to strengthen commercial ties between the UK and India. In 2015, he played a key role in establishing the U.S. Business Centers across India in partnership with the U.S.-India Business Council (USIBC), JLL, and Citibank India. These centres have supported billions of dollars in annual bilateral trade.
In 2018, Adrian launched the U.S.-India Knowledge Exchange (USIKE) in Washington, D.C., bringing together leaders from higher education, research, industry, and government to strengthen collaboration in student mobility, faculty exchange, and innovation.
Adrian also serves on the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Trade Facilitation Group National MSME Council, where he provides strategic guidance on market access and trade policy, supporting the Government of India's Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises.
His work continues to shape international partnerships and strengthen global engagement across business and higher education.
Filip van Depoele is an economist by training (University of Leuven, Belgium) and subsequently studied European Economic Integration (College of Europe, Bruges, Belgium) and International Relations (Johns Hopkins University, Bologna, Italy). He worked for a number of years in the private sector (banking) before joining the European Commission in 1997. Filip held several positions in the Directorate General for Employment and Social Affairs and the Directorate General for Competition before moving to the Directorate General in charge of Education, Youth, Sport and Culture. After having managed the Policy Coordination unit for 5 years, he is currently heading the International Cooperation unit.