IIT Hyderabad, Swinburne University of Technology, Australia to take up partnered Ph.D. program

NEW DELHI, SEPTEMBER 28: The Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad has launched a Research Collaboration with Swinburne University of Technology, Australia. They will take up a Partnered Ph.D. program covering Engineering, Science, Design and Arts and Humanities research areas.

The collaboration will provide top international level research, focused on industry by combining the expertise of researchers in India and Australia while providing access to excellent facilities in mutually identified key research areas.

Indian students make up the largest cohort of students at University of Technology which has, in recent years established more and more alliances and partnerships with Indian industry and education.

Dr. V.K. Saraswat, Member of NITI Aayog, said, “If the innovation has to come out of the valley of death, it is important that the industry connects right in the beginning and I'm sure this collaboration between Australia and India will benefit both the nations' industries in that sense.”

Industry partners can partner through PhD projects, contract research (short and medium term) and collaborate through projects with other organisations and government institutions. The collaboration will also promote international links and knowledge sharing between the two countries through industrial tours, symposiums and industry focused workshops

Both Swinburne University and IIT Hyderabad share common research strengths in the space of Manufacturing, Smart Cities, Health Innovation, Digital Innovation and Data Science, which aligns with India’s initiatives of ‘Make in India’, Digital India’ and ‘Smart Cities’. The aim is to combine and expand the existing expertise at both institutions. The current collaboration includes academic exchange, joint organisation of research workshops and developing joint research projects and joint publications.

Speaking at the launch, Prof U.B. Desai, Director, IIT Hyderabad, said, “This is a very unique research partnership which will be of great value to Ph.D. students to enhance their research and get global recognition. It is indeed a win-win research partnership for IIT Hyderabad and Swinburne University of Technology.”

The partnership facilitates the joint supervision of PhD students between Swinburne and IIT Hyderabad. The students will have the opportunity to be jointly supervised by both universities while working on industry projects. Students will also have access to facilities at both universities. There are already 23 students enrolled under the PhD agreement with the number expected to grow many fold in the years to come.