Coventry University and the Gandhi Institute of Technology and Management (GITAM) in India have signed an agreement to explore potential opportunities to collaborate and develop their research portfolios.
The purpose of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) is to discuss opportunities for joint research, joint funding applications, faculty development, student exchange and joint academic activities.
It creates another strategic alliance overseas for Coventry University, which is due to open its latest Global Hub in New Delhi India, early next year. The global education group already has a network of five Global Hubs in Africa, Dubai, China, Brussels and Singapore, helping to develop collaborations with universities, governments and businesses around the world.
Coventry University’s Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research, Professor Richard Dashwood, said: “We are delighted to be working with the Gandhi Institute of Technology and Management (GITAM) as we have recently announced our India Hub and want to identify and work with recognised universities in India for research and development.”
GITAM plans to expand its research portfolio and the MoU shows the commitment to enhancing the research footprint of GITAM by way of collaborative research, joint publications, and student and faculty exchange for research and development. Both GITAM and Coventry University will be able to apply for joint grants in areas of focus that they have set for themselves.
Prof KNS Acharya, Pro-Vice Chancellor at GITAM, said: “We truly believe in developing global partnerships to enhance research focus in the areas of mutual interest. Coventry University will be a strategic and collaborator of choice university as there are significant areas of mutual interest. There are five research themes where we see strong complementary areas of Interest. The teams of researchers on both sides have put in significant effort over the last three months to identify common areas of research to focus on.”
The agreement will mean that the two institutions will discuss and develop areas of potential collaboration including agroecology, water and sustainability, future transport, autonomous systems and engineering, healthcare and life sciences, business and arts, and virtual and mixed realities.
GITAM’s Vice-Chancellor Prof Dayananda Siddavattam and President Sri Bharath M hosted the Coventry University team at their Vizag campus in India. Professor Carl Perrin, CEO of the university’s Institute for Clean Growth and Future Mobility, and Professor Rohit Bhagat, Director of the Research Centre for E-Mobility and Clean Growth, travelled to India to meet with Leena Kukreja, Regional Managing Director of Coventry University’s India Hub, to attend the signing of the agreement.
British Deputy High Commissioner to Hyderabad Gareth Wynn Owen joined the MoU signing ceremony virtually and welcomed the MoU to strengthen UK-India education and research collaboration. To find out more visit Coventry University’s India Hub website.
