Bengaluru, October 30, 2015.Thales and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bangalore today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to create a jointly supervised IISc – CNRS PhD fellowship scheme scheduled to start at the end of 2015.
In order to develop and strengthen Indo-French scientific cooperation through close collaborations between Indian and French laboratories, and to boost industrial research by strong inter-connections with academic institutions, Thales and IISc propose to set up a fellowship scheme for PhD students registered at IISc.
Speaking at the event, Antoine Caput, VP & Country Director – India, Thales, said, “We are proud to associate with Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, to facilitate and promote research and development (R&D) in India. This partnership reinforces our commitment to the country and takes us a step closer towards strengthening our relationship with the Indian academic community. Through this significant MoU, we look forward to contribute to the Indian government’s mission of skilling and up-skilling people, and its focus on enhancing the R&D fields in India.”
In the first edition of this new programme, up to 4 fellowships from India will be funded. The students benefitting from these Jointly Supervised PhD fellowships will have a PhD supervisor in India and a co-supervisor in France (from one of the identified CNRS laboratories). A joint degree option between IISc and French Institutions will be explored in the future.
Areas of interest to Thales such as advanced electronics and electromagnetics or complex system engineering in which expertise exists at IISc will be considered. Prof. Dr. Jayant Modak, Deputy Director, IISC, Bangalore, said, “Indian Institute of Science is happy to initiate PhD Student Fellowship Program with Thales which brings together researchers from IISc, Thales and CNRS to carry out cutting edge research. I hope this program acts as a catalyst for a long-term mutually beneficial research collaboration between our organisations.”
The proposed scheme for these PhD fellowships involves IISc, selected research institutes in France, Thales in India and France. This fellowship program is dedicated to highly qualified students registered with IISc providing them with an excellent opportunity to carry out a part of their research project in France as well as in India, and to establish professional relationships and experience cultural diversity.
Dr. Srini Kaveri, Director, CNRS in India, said, “The Thales PhD Fellowship Programme for IISc students is a historical moment in the Indo-French scientific relations. This programme will allow a one-of-a-kind of training for the students who will benefit from the expertise of the participating laboratories and universities and an exposure to the industrial atmosphere during formative years.”
Antoine Caput added, “Collaborating with the world’s most dynamic universities is a key aspect of innovation at Thales. We are developing common projects with over 50 prestigious universities and research laboratories in Europe, the United States, the Middle East and throughout Asia. I am proud that India is joining the group of International experts thanks to IISc’s promising talents.”
