Imperial College London and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bangalore has launched an “ambitious” new partnership in research and education. The agreement will see the two leading institutes launch a research and education seed fund with the aim of laying the foundations for future joint research projects in a range of scientific areas and support new innovations in education. The tie-up will involve greater collaboration on research projects in a wide range of scientific areas and also increased mobility of academics and students between the two institutes.
Professor Maggie Dallman, Imperial’s Vice President (International), said: “This ambitious partnership brings together two of the world’s leading universities to make a significant impact in research, innovation and education.
“Imperial has collaborated with the Indian Institute of Science for decades and there is now a great opportunity to build upon this success and work together more closely. India is an incredibly exciting place for research, education and innovation, and I am sure that Imperial and IISc will be at the fore of supporting and forging UK-India partnerships in the coming decade.”
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Besides closer collaboration between Imperial and IISc, the Imperial-IISc Innovative Research and Education Fund has opened for applications from teams at both institutes. It is aimed at kick-starting early-stage, risky and “blue skies” research ideas and education collaboration. The Fund will be used by teams at Imperial and IISc to support exploratory research, small-scale experiments or the development of prototypes, workshops and hackathons, and will enable researchers and students to spend time at each institute.
Professor Praveen Kumar, Chair of the Office of International Relations at IISc, said: “The newly commenced programme will provide a fresh impetus to the several decades-long partnership between IISc and Imperial.
“It is an example of the natural partnership that has been developing between Indian and UK universities. As the disruptions brought by Covid-19 are getting eased, I am sure that the researchers at both institutions would be excited about this programme.”
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Both universities said they will also explore creating a student exchange programme to enable students at both institutions to broaden their networks and experience.
In the QS World University Rankings for 2023, Imperial was recently ranked sixth best university in the world and IISc emerged as the top institute in India. Imperial said its academics and IISc will build on a number of existing collaborations in areas such as engineering and life sciences.
