At the UQ-IITD Research Academy Annual Symposium 2024, The University of Queensland President and Vice-Chancellor Professor Deborah Terry AC and IIT Delhi Director Professor Rangan Banerjee highlighted the commitment of both UQ and IITD to knowledge creation and sharing for societal benefit.
They emphasised a joint vision to create impact through the partnership between UQ, IITD and the broader India-Australia relationship, welcoming further collaboration with industry and government.
The Annual Symposium was hosted in Delhi on 23-24 September 2024. The event focused on fostering collaboration between the UQ-IITD Research Academy, industry partners, and government and non-government organisations to address global issues with innovative solutions.
“Universities around the world are on the front-line of the global response to shared economic, social, and environment challenges… However, critically, no one university – in isolation – is likely to be able to solve these challenges”, Professor Terry said .
“We are better – more productive, and more impactful – when we work together in partnerships that leverage our complementary capabilities.”
The Symposium showcased the power of partnerships in research and innovation through keynote speeches, panel discussions, and presentations by government representatives, industry leaders, and UQ and IITD faculties and students.
Dr Anita Gupta, Head of Scientific Divisions for Climate, Energy, and Sustainable Technology at India’s Department of Science and Technology, used her keynote speech to highlight the importance of collaborating with universities and industry. She welcomed opportunities to work with universities and industry partners to tackle critical issues such as climate change, energy, and sustainability challenges.
“The world is one family – working together for the common good, for shared purposes. We have shared problems and need to work together toward shared solutions through engaging and impactful partnerships. Our future cannot be without partnerships,” Dr Gupta said.
Echoing this sentiment, Professor Alan Rowan, Director of UQ’s Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology (AIBN), emphasised the importance of collaborative efforts:
“At UQ–IITD we unite diverse expertise and talented PhD students to address major issues in areas such as biotechnology, energy, future AI, and quantum applications. This is a wonderful opportunity to combine skill sets from both sides of the world, working together towards research commercialisation while training the next generation of researchers and entrepreneurs,” Professor Rowan said.
Professor L Venkata Subramaniam, IBM Quantum India Leader, stressed the significant demand for quantum technology in business and the economy during a panel discussion on “Quantum Technologies Scope and Futures: A Step Forward”. He noted that very few institutions in India offer quantum training programs and IIT Delhi is among these few. He highlighted the importance of collaboration between industry, government, and academic institutions like UQ and IITD to drive innovation and develop global solutions.
IIT Delhi’s Dean of R&D, Professor Naresh Bhatnagar, highlighted the Institute’s diverse research strengths, including coal conversion, bioengineering, and large-scale government-funded projects. He emphasised IIT Delhi’s capabilities for collaborative research with industry partners and the government, such as collaborative research for the Indian Ministry of Defence.
Professor Panda, IITD Dean of Corporate Relations, also welcomed partnerships with industry partners and the government in his speech and added that IIT Delhi offers industry partners access to facilities like the Research and Innovation Park, which focuses on innovation and product development, fostering collaboration between IIT Delhi, industry, entrepreneurs, and government agencies.
An in-depth panel discussion on “Global Impact Through Collaborative Partnerships” moderated by Dr Dhir (IITD) with industry leaders Mr Neeraj Jain, Country Director, PATH, Dr Anuradha Jain (Director, USAID), Dr BhupatSinh Vihol, Deputy Director, Piramal Pharma Ltd together with Professor Rakic (UQ), Professor Elangovan (IITD) contributed to the discussion as a panellist.
The panel discussed around the 3 P-amalgamation (Policy, Practitioners and People) and the reasons why research collaborations should include players from the industry, policymakers, and community. Panellists emphasised the added values when academia, industry, and the community work together to navigate collaborations and discussed the scope of contribution in terms of community, research impact, scale and building mutual trust.
The Research Academy currently has over 100 joint PhD candidates enrolled. The 18 graduates to date continue to contribute research and innovation in India, Australia and other countries.
The Academy’s PhD students presented a diverse array of research projects, including:
- 3D printing of dairy sweetmeats
- Learning-based adaptive sensors
- Nitrogen dioxide exposure assessment and child respiratory health in India
- Optimal scheduling in active distribution systems
- Novel algorithms for enhancing wind farms
- Efficient processed organic semiconductor materials for organic laser diodes
- Competitiveness in the digital health ecosystem
- Decarbonising the Indian power sector using the EMPIRE model
For the full list of the Academy’s current joint PhD projects, click here.
Following the success of the Symposium, the Academy plans to implement a series of thematic industry connect workshops in coming months. The workshops will foster in-depth discussions and develop collaboration plans with industry partners across the Academy's 6 research themes.
The Research Academy welcomes collaborations and partnerships for training, research translation, and commercialisation. For queries and more information on partnering with us, please contact the Program Director for Partnerships and Business Development, Ms Aashita Apoorva, at uqiitd_par@admin.iitd.ac.in
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