RMIT-India research program 2020 annual report

In the 2020 Annual Report, the voices of our leaders, students and partners, share inspiring first-hand examples of opportunity, ingenuity and exceptional effort.

During this time and as we celebrate their achievements, our friends and colleagues in India remain in our thoughts as they struggle with the ravages of COVID-19.

RMIT Vice-Chancellor and President, Professor Martin Bean CBE said RMIT has always worked collaboratively with India and has developed valuable and strategic partnerships with Indian research institutions and laboratories.

“We have established strategic partnerships with leading Indian institutions and these partnerships result in valuable scientific outputs, grants and innovative research,” he said.

 “Since 2017, RMIT has initiated an award-winning joint PhD program with the Academy  of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), the governing academic body for  39 Indian national Council of Scientific Industrial Research (CSIR) laboratories.

“Programs like this leverage the strength of Indian innovation and extensive capabilities to establish a platform of intellectual infrastructure.

“On this platform, we jointly provide skill training and supervision to support young Indian students to become graduates equipped with a global passport.

“Our research collaborations and partnerships also allow RMIT to harness the best Indian research facilities such as the scale-up and pilot facilities at the Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT) and the expertise at the Indian Institute of Petroleum (IIP).

“Together we work to innovate new technologies to solve the real-world problems.”

RMIT Dean of Research and Innovation, STEM College and Director, Centre for Advanced Materials and Industrial Chemistry, Distinguished Professor Suresh Bhargava, said RMIT’s strategic alliance with the Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR) in India is designed to forge a diverse and extensive education hub.

“India is the world’s second-fastest growing economy, and AcSIR is the academic organisation behind the CSIR laboratories network of India,” he said.

“This influential partnership achieved remarkable things in 2020 and will continue to empower RMIT in the coming years.

“The partnership with India is built on trust, respect, cooperation, and ongoing mutual benefits.

“India has the demographic advantage and RMIT brings established technological capabilities. Together, this makes a real difference.”