Nissan to offer scholarships for IIT-M students and faculty

Updated on: Monday, November 01, 2010

The Nissan Science Foundation (NSF) signed two MoUs with the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT-M) to groom talented students in automobile technology and for promoting fundamental research among faculty.

The Nissan Foundation Scholar programme will support students of IIT-M till 2015 by providing select students with financial aid, a short training at Nissan headquarters in Japan and an internship at the Nissan's R&D Centre in India (RNTBCI).

“NSF is providing such a student support for the first time outside Japan,” said Haruyoshi Kumura, Director, NSF.

The support promises to nurture our students' potential providing them with an attractive opportunity of overseas training,” Prof. Job Kurian, Dean, Industrial Consultancy & Sponsored Research (IC&SR), IIT-M. The sponsored students will contribute to future technology, he said.

The second MoU agreed by Nissan's R&D Centre in India (RNTBCI) titled the ‘Nissan Support Program' will be valid till March 2013. This initiative will aim to support Research & Development Project at IIT-M in the areas of engineering, science, management, humanities and social sciences, which will contribute to the automobile Sector in the future.

The Nissan Support Program will invite proposals from the faculty of IIT-M every year for research work in the identified areas. Post a joint review of Nissan officials and IIT Madras, around 4-5 projects will be chosen for funding every year, said Hiroshi Nagaoka, Senior Vice President & Director (Nissan Operations), RNTBCI .

Nissan already has a couple of collaborative projects with IIT-M and also started a research laboratory at IIT-M Research Park.

“The scholarship is an area where we want to provide an opportunity to reward deserving students. We are confident that this partnership will offer them not just financial aid for completing their education but give them an opportunity to learn and be exposed to the Nissan world,” Mr. Kumura said.

“The Nissan support program is a great effort to promote fundamental research among the young faculty members at IIT-M. We are very pleased with these developments and look forward to a continued mutually-benefiting relationship with Nissan,” Mr. Kurian said.

Nissan to offer scholarships for IIT-M students and faculty

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