University of Birmingham inks deal for strategic research in India

EXPERTS at the University of Birmingham will work with partners in India across education, healthcare, genetic engineering and sports science.

Vice-Chancellor and professor Sir David Eastwood signed a range of Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) with the university’s partners at a special signing ceremony in Delhi.

The agreements form a key part of the university’s strategic vision to continue building meaningful education and research partnerships in India.

The partners include the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biology (ICGEB), leading pharmaceutical company CIPLA, Pandit Deendayal Petroleum University (PDPU), Technofin, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, and Inspire Institute of Sport.

Eastwood said: “The University of Birmingham’s collaborative research output with its Indian partners has almost doubled over the past five years. We currently have over 40 joint research projects of outstanding quality.”

“We are a global university with a civic heart and a long, illustrious relationship with India. Signing these exciting new agreements with partners in areas such as health, transport and environment gives us a great opportunity to further contribute to Indian society as we continue to forge meaningful research and education partnerships in India.”

The University and ICGEB plan to work together on multidisciplinary research, including immunity and infection, as well as projects tackling human diseases, compound screening for identifying autophagy modulators, and exchanges of students and staff across relevant projects.

Working in partnership with CIPLA, university experts will develop continuous professional development (CPD) programmes in healthcare.

Researchers at PDPU and Birmingham will continue working on the joint ‘India-H2O’ project, which is developing, designing and demonstrating high-recovery, low-cost water treatment systems for saline groundwater, as well as domestic and industrial wastewaters. The partners will also identify new research opportunities.

The agreement with Technofin will see the partners working together on a bid to provide rail research and consultancy to the Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Ltd., to support the establishment of a Heavy Haul Research Institute. They will also develop other infrastructure-related research.

Manipal engineering students will be able to join Birmingham courses in civil engineering, computer science and engineering, electrical and electronics engineering, mechanical engineering and mechatronics engineering- after completing two years of study in India, graduating with degrees from both universities.

University experts will also work with Inspire Institute of Sport to develop bespoke distance-learning and blended CPD programmes for the development of the Institute’s staff, as well as develop scholarships for postgraduate study in sports science.

The MoU is an outcome of the India-UK Sports Alliance set up by the UK Government’s Department for International Trade to drive collaboration in sports between the two countries.