The Retailers Association of India (RAI) has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Kumaraguru College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (KCLAS), marking a move to deepen collaboration between India’s retail industry and higher education institutions.
The MoU was signed in the presence of Shankar Vanavarayar, President of Kumaraguru Institutions, and Kumar Rajagopalan, Chief Executive Officer of the Retailers Association of India, as part of a structured initiative focused on the future of retail, innovation and talent development.
The partnership seeks to establish sustained engagement between industry and academia through knowledge exchange, student exposure, faculty interaction, research collaboration and co-created initiatives aligned with the evolving needs of India’s retail ecosystem. A collaboration calendar for 2026–27, unveiled during the event, outlines a range of planned activities, including industry-led sessions, student-driven initiatives, experiential learning programmes and thought-leadership forums.
Rajagopalan said the MoU would enable RAI to strengthen its engagement with academic institutions in order to better prepare students for a rapidly changing retail landscape. He added that the collaboration would also allow the industry to benefit from new thinking and emerging perspectives brought by students, noting that the retail sector must not only focus on training future professionals but also remain open to learning from the next generation that will shape its future.
