IIT Madras, NTU Singapore to offer joint PhD programme

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras has collaborated with the Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore, for offering a joint PhD programme. As part of this program, Infosys Co-Founder Kris Gopalakrishnan, an alumnus of IIT-M, will sponsor five IIT-M students annually to travel and stay at NTU (upto 18 months).

Various forms of support to the Institute will also be provided by the IIT Madras alumni community in Singapore, which is strong and active in the area.

Gopalakrishnan said, "I strongly believe in international collaboration in research so that diverse perspectives can be brought to solve global challenges. NTU and IIT Madras are research leaders in many complimentary areas and I am sure that this collaboration will help advance research in both institutes."

Bhaskar Ramamurthi, Director of IIT Madras, has exchanged the MoU for Joint Doctoral Program with Nanyang Technological University. This MoU will enable the exchange of an equal number of scholars from IIT Madras to NTU.

R Nagarajan, Alumni Community Chair Professor, IIT Madras, said, "NTU is sending a delegation of faculty for a Research Collaboration Workshop at IIT Madras. A reciprocal Workshop is planned at NTU in early 2019. Both institutions will attempt to get 5 Ph.D. candidates enrolled in the joint program during 2019. IIT Madras alumni in Singapore will continue to meet regularly, and look for ways to give back to IIT Madras and to India."

BVR Chowdari, Senior Executive Director, President's Office, School of Materials Science and Engineering, NTU, said, "The very fact that NTU has set up an office named 'NTU India Connect' signifies the strong intent of NTU to collaborate with Indian Institutes of higher learning."