New Delhi. 26 January, 2016. Thales and Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT Bombay) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to create a jointly supervised IIT Bombay-CNRS PhD fellowship scheme starting July 2016.
Through this fellowship scheme, Thales and IIT Bombay seek to fortify the Indo-French scientific collaboration including cross-cooperation between laboratories and R&D (Research & Development) for industrial applications.
Speaking at the ceremony, Mr. Patrice Caine, Chairman and CEO, Thales, said, “We are proud to seal this strategic partnership with the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology Bombay. Promoting R&D as a way of fostering economic development is of mutual interest to both Thales and IIT Bombay, making this a preferred collaboration. Given our longstanding commitment to the Indian market, this is a natural step forward towards strengthening the knowledge and innovation ecosystem in the country and being even closer to our clients.”
He added, “Our strategy of collaborating with the Indian academic institutions and grooming talents is in line with the Indian government’s Skill India vision and Thales approach of sharing technologies and expertise.”
The students selected for the jointly supervised PhD fellowships will have a PhD supervisor in India and a co-supervisor in France (from one of the identified CNRS laboratories). The programme will provide highly qualified students of IIT Bombay with the opportunity to conduct a part of their research project in both countries in areas of expertise such as advanced electronics and electromagnetics or complex system engineering. This will allow the selected students to experience cultural diversity together with establishing an international professional network.
Prof. Devang V. Khakhar, Director, IIT Bombay, said, “We are delighted to collaborate with the global innovation leader Thales for this fellowship scheme. It would provide our top students with an access to cutting-edge French technologies and advanced industrial environments to carry out research activities, and would set the ground for longstanding Indo-French partnerships.”
Partnering with top universities worldwide is an important aspect of innovation for Thales which created joint projects with over 50 prestigious universities and research laboratories worldwide. In 2015, Thales ranked for the 3rd time among the world’s Top 100 Global Innovators by Thomson Reuters.
Dr. Srinivas Kaveri, Director, CNRS in India, said, “We are excited to be able to contribute to the Thales PhD fellowship programme for IIT Bombay students. This unique programme would not only foster research collaboration between India and France but also drive industry-led innovation while enabling students to gain immense knowledge and exposure at the same time.”
