On September 18th, the British Council is to launch the INSPIRE Project – International Strategic Partnerships in Research and Education. The project, far from having the objective of international student recruitment to the UK universities, aims to strengthen high level strategic relationships and developing greater cooperation between the UK Higher Education Institutions and those in five Central South Asian (CSA) countries: Pakistan, Bangladesh, Kazakhstan, Iran and Afghanistan. Applications are invited for grant funding from UK Higher Education Institutions and CSA partner institutions for a range of activities. The projects will be selected according to specific criteria such as high quality, innovative research and/or academic excellence. INSPIRE