France and India join hands

Updated on: Monday, December 20, 2010

India and France recently signed two Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) in the field of education, focusing on academic collaboration and research.

With the French Minister for Higher Education and Research Valerie Pecresse meeting the Minister for Human Resource Development (HRD) Kapil Sibal, it seems that cooperation between the two countries in the field of education and scientific research is on the anvil.

The large delegation of senior academics and scientists who accompanied the French Minister included the President of UTT University Christian Lerminiaux. Both Ministers discussed the need to have more arrangements for cooperation in the field of education and research such as nanotechnology, biotechnology, weather prediction, aerospace engineering, advanced mathematics, and so on.

Among the two MoUs that were signed was one for setting up an international joint laboratory between the Institut de Recherch Pour Le Developpement (France) and the Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru (India). And the other for academic collaboration between the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), and ParisTech - Paris Institute of Science and Technology. The MoU will be between the seven IITs and the nine institutions under ParisTech.

Collaboration would be in the fields of research and education like the promotion of institutional exchanges, student exchanges, organising symposia, short programmes etc.

Also included in discussion between both sides was the final draft of an MoU regarding IIT-Rajasthan which provides for a French consortium to academically and scientifically accompany the institute to develop areas in which France possesses considerable expertise — technologies for health; renewable energy (especially solar energy); aerospace; quantum computing; systems integration and design; mechanical engineering; technologies for art, conservation and heritage; as well as any other areas to be decided by mutual consent.

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