The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay on Tuesday announced a partnership with Australia's Monash University for jointly undertaking scientific research activities.
As part of the agreement, an IIT Bombay-Monash research academy will be set up as a centre of excellence in the areas of clean energy, water, biotechnology, mineral exploration and computer simulation.
The academy will be located in IIT Bombay's campus and a separate governing board will oversee the activities of the academy, said Ashok Misra, director of IIT Bombay.
"The opportunity to establish high quality teams of researchers addressing problems of relevance to global industry and community is an exciting prospect," he said in a statement issued in Mumbai.
BHP Billiton, one of the world's leading commodities companies, has decided to support the initiative with a commitment to undertake joint research and commercialisation.
"This agreement means that India's finest scientific minds will be working with BHP Billiton to jointly develop and commercialise leading edge technology," said Megan Clark, vice president of BHP Billiton.
The research academy will enable both IIT Bombay and Monash University to interact with Indian, Australian and global corporations to accelerate the commercialisation of world class research, he added.
The academy will undertake fundamental research, graduate training and industry engagement.
{{/usCountry}}The academy will undertake fundamental research, graduate training and industry engagement.
{{/usCountry}}"This initiative brings together world class institutions for training the next generation of scientists to contribute to the economic growth," said Richard Larkins, vice chancellor of Monash University.