IIT Delhi join hands with NII Delhi for collaborative research

NEW DELHI, MARCH 15: Indian Institute of Technology Delhi and National Institute of Immunology Delhi have signed an MoU under which they have agreed to establish a programme for academic cooperation in areas of mutual interest like collaborative research activities, joint Ph.D. programs and exchange of students.

Prof V Ramgopal Rao, Director, IIT Delhi and Prof Amulya K Panda, Director, NII Delhi signed the MoU in the presence of senior functionaries from both institutions.

The MoU will remain valid initially for five years and may be continued thereafter also after suitable review and agreement.

Under the MoU, IIT Delhi and NII Delhi have agreed to carry out joint research by submitting joint research proposals to external funding agencies.

They will initiate schemes for carrying out joint and collaborative research; will jointly organize seminars, conferences, workshops and short-term Continuing Education Programmes on topics of mutual interest.

Both institutions will jointly propose and engage in research and training programmes sponsored by the funding agencies (both government and private) and to invite each other's faculty to participate therein.

As per the MoU, IIT Delhi and NII Delhi have agreed to exchange, on a reciprocal basis, faculty and students for a limited period of time for purpose of education and research.

Research candidates registered in either of the institutions will be jointly guided for doctoral or post-graduate programmes with joint supervision. IIT Delhi and NII Delhi will also utilize each other’s research facilities.

Speaking on the occasion, Prof V Ramgopal Rao, Director, IIT Delhi, said, “One of the objectives of this collaboration is to initiate 20 inter-disciplinary research projects between the faculty of IIT Delhi and scientists from NII Delhi with seed money provided by both the institutions”.

Prof Amulya K Panda, Director, National Institute of Immunology Delhi, added, “I feel very happy to sign the MoU with IIT Delhi which is also my alma mater. The research and academic collaboration between these two institutions will lead to a very productive outcome and quite useful for the future generation.”

According to the MoU, both institutions will appoint one member of their teaching/research faculty to coordinate the programme on their behalf. The coordinator will periodically review and identify ways to strengthen cooperation between the two institutions.

IITD has a strong research base in engineering and technology and state of the art facilities of nanoscale fabrication, material characterization, Artificial Intelligence, robotics, medical devices, biomaterial and functional textiles.

On the other hand, NII Delhi has a strong research base in biological sciences, immunological research and diseases and state of the art facilities of one of most advanced animal houses and analytical/ molecular biology research facility.