The University of Waterloo has signed a broad-based Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IITD), India, with the aim of supporting a range of activities across talent, research, and community areas. "We are delighted to further strengthen our connections with one of the world's outstanding universities. There is great potential for collaborative work between our two communities that will not only have an impact within our respective universities, but also much beyond." says Prof. Ian Rowlands, Associate Vice-President, International, at the University of Waterloo, and one of the signatories of this MOU.
The University of Waterloo and IITD have a long history of collaboration. Agreements between the two universities date back almost 20 years. Additionally, several graduates from one university work at the other. The new MOU furthers this commitment to bilateral engagement as a result of our recent collaborations.
The recent engagements started when Waterloo International connected with the IITD International on August 27, 2021, for a virtual meeting. Prof. Ian Rowlands, and Prof. Naveen Garg, (Dean of International Programmes, IITD) touched on multiple ways to deepen the relationships between the universities.
One outcome of the discussions between the international offices was the Innovation Lab that took place on November 27, 2021, led by the Waterloo Institute for Sustainable Energy (WISE). Students from both universities were presented with two real-world case studies highlighting the challenges Canadian and Indian communities face in accessing affordable and clean energy.
Another
outcome
was
the
connection
between
Waterloo's
Office
of
Research
and
the
IITD's
Industrial
Research
and
Development
Unit
on
November
2,
2021.
Drew
Knight,
former
Director,
Global
Research
and
Strategic
Alliances
of
the
University
of
Waterloo
virtually
met
with
Prof.
Sunil
K
Khare,
Dean
of
Research
from
IITD.
The
productive
discussions
led
to
research
activity
mapping
and
identifying
overlapping
priority
research
areas
for
both
institutions.
With
the
new
MOU
in
place,
a
call
for
a
jointly
funded
collaborative
research
project
proposal
will
open
for
interested
tenured
and
tenure-track
faculty
members
on
April
18,
2022.
The
deadline
for
submission
of
proposals
will
be
on
June
17,
2022.
The
Office
of
Research
welcomes
proposals
from
all
fields,
with
preference
given
to
Automotive
Research,
Nanotechnology,
Quantum
Computing
and
Electronics
Technology.
If
you
have
any
questions,
please
contact
Monica
Finlay,
Grants
&
Contracts
Manager,
Office
of
Research,
at
monica.finlay@uwaterloo.ca
For anyone who has any questions or comments about Waterloo's engagement with IITD, please contact Ishari Waduwara-Jayabahu, International Relations Manager, Waterloo International, at international.relations@uwaterloo.ca