The already strong relations between the University of Aberdeen and government and education officials in Nepal has been further cemented after institution representatives met the Nepalese President Dr Ram Baran Yadav.
The delegation from Aberdeen became the first members of a non-Nepalese university to be received by the new President.
The Kathmandu meeting came as academics and senior managers, led by Professor Neva Haites, Vice Principal and Head of the University's College of Life Sciences and Medicine, spent a week in Nepal.
The Aberdeen team also met Nepalese researchers and academics to discuss potential future collaborations.
Aberdeen is the third most popular British university for Nepalese students wanting to study in the UK, welcoming new students into a local Nepalese community of around 300. It is the top UK university for postgraduates students, especially those studying public health and other health sciences.
The high-profile visit is a statement of the strategic importance to the University of its links with Nepal, and its wish to build further on the relationship with education and health organisations in the country, explore possibilities for new collaborations, and raise awareness among prospective students of the benefits of an Aberdeen degree.
The visit received a great deal of press coverage in Nepal, with a presentation by Ms Rachel Sandison, Head of Student Recruitment and Admissions at the University of Aberdeen, broadcast on national Nepalese news channels.
Expressing her delight at the welcome that the Aberdeen academics received in Nepal, Professor Haites said: "We were very pleased to be in Nepal, meeting old friends and making new ones. The University of Aberdeen is committed to increasing its research involvement in international health, and our growing partnership with the health and education sector in Nepal is an important part of that."
Dr Padam Simkhada, originally from Nepal, is a lecturer in international health accompanying Prof. Haites, said: "We continue to explore the needs of Nepalese students to ensure that what we teach and research at Aberdeen has relevance to developing countries."
Dr Simkhada and Dr Edwin van Teijlingen, who is also on the trip - supervise a number of Nepalese postgraduate students in a range of public health and international health topics.
Dr Van Teijlingen added: "Our research at the University of Aberdeen is unique in that we are studying both health care and health services research in Nepal, and, at the same time, the health and lifestyle of Nepalese immigrants in the UK."
ENDS