Sri Ramachandra University was founded with an ambitious charter to become a leader in health care, research, and medical education. In 1997, Sri Ramachandra University developed a collaboration with Harvard Medical International to create programs aimed at the following objectives:

  • Introduce curricular reforms emphasizing more active, student-centered learning
  • Enhance the faculty by introducing innovative teaching practices
  • Create international student and faculty exchange opportunities
  • Institute global best practices in Sri Ramachandra University's affiliated academic medical center to raise the local standard of patient-centered care to meet international benchmarks
  • Work with administrative and clinical leaders to identify opportunities for educational and operational improvements in order to build and sustain a high-quality health care delivery system at Sri Ramachandra University


The alliance with Sri Ramachandra University began with an intensive self-assessment process that helped the university create a framework for growth and a strategy for meeting its objectives. Among the relationship's most important developments:
  • An extensive effort aimed at creating a competency-based medical curriculum that emphasizes active learning, case-based teaching, teamwork, professsionalism, and early exposure to clinical practice
  • Yearly faculty development workshops, led by Harvard faculty, designed to align teaching practices with the principles of the revised curriculum
  • An annual leadership course for institutional and regional leaders in health care and academic medicine
  • An inter-institutional student exchange program providing clerkship opportunities in Harvard Medical School (HMS)-affiliated institutions for Sri Ramachandra University students, as well as reciprocal opportunities for HMS students
  • The development of ongoing continuing medical education programs for Sri Ramachandra University faculty and the broader Chennai region

Sri Ramachandra University's programs for faculty, physicians, students, and health care leaders have helped to enhance the school's reputation as a center of excellence for medical education. The collaboration continues to drive progress in these areas, and has enabled the university to broaden the scope of its efforts. In July 2007, Harvard and PHMI faculty joined colleagues from the Indian health care community to celebrate the tenth anniversary of our alliance with Sri Ramachandra University.