Hyderabad: Irrespective of the ongoing tribulations in the Osmania University's pro-Telangana agitation, a team of scholars and academicians from the Kansas State University of the United States arrived on the campus on Monday in lieu of establishing a long-term association for student and faculty exchange programmes.

In spite of the travel advisory issued to the group of visiting scholars against visiting Andhra Pradesh in view of the agitations for and against bifurcation of the State, their visit assumes importance.

They will be in the campus for the next three days holding discussions with heads of various departments.

The team has come to the University on the initiative taken up by the Osmania University Centre for International Programmes (OUCIP).

The university Vice-Chancellor T. Tirupathi Rao enumerated the benefits that the university would derive from such visits.

"The US team members are here to reap mutual benefits by collaborating with many departments on a long term basis."

Expressing happiness over their arrival, he appreciated their confidence.

He said the team would interact with faculty of various departments including engineering, management, political science to explore possibilities of starting joint degrees, students and faculty exchange programmes, research collaborations etc.

The visiting team, not concerned about the ongoing agitation, took up preliminary discussions with the professors of the Osmania University on Monday.

Upon being asked whether the issue of the agitation was one of their topic during preliminary discussions, one of the visiting team members Prof. Barry Michie replied with a firm "No".

They have had one round of discussions with the Osmania University faculty and Prof. Michie confirmed that, "It's certainly a beginning."

Prof. P. Laxminarayana, vice-principal of College of Technology said the visit of the Kansas academicians was a 'most welcome development'.

Kumaraswamy and B. Suman, members of the Telangana Students Joint Action Committee (TSJAC) spearheading the separate Telangana state agitation, too welcomed the visiting academicians pointing out that Osmania University students would profit from such an alliance with foreign universities.

The programme coordinator for OUCIP, Y.L. Srinivas pointed out that visit by the foreign academicians would go a long way in restoring the academic atmosphere on the university campus.

Their visit at this juncture proved that academic atmosphere on the University campus was getting restored.