April 4, 2018
The agreement, signed during Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s state visit to India in February 2018, is aimed at fostering cross-border partnerships focused on research excellence and industry-academic collaboration
Under a graduate level programme, both nations intend to support up to 110 Master's and PhD student researchers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields over a three-year period in the partner nation
Additionally, up to 40 Master's and PhD student researchers over a span of three years from each nation will participate in a 16 to 24 weeks' research programme with industry partners located in the counterpart country
This deal will further strengthen India’s long-standing relationship in science, technology and innovation cooperation with Canada, which currently hosts over 100,000 Indian students as well as over 1.2 million persons of Indian origin
India’s Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved a memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between India and Canada to boost cooperation in academic research and industry innovation. The agreement, signed during Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s state visit to India in February 2018, is aimed at fostering cross-border partnerships focused on research excellence and industry-academic collaboration. This is anticipated to bring brings robust innovation gains to both countries. Igniting collaboration through talent mobility is at the core of the partnership.
The arrangement enables Indian and Canadian academics and researchers to undertake graduate level academic research mobility and cross-border industry-academic cooperation. Under the graduate level programme, both sides intend to support up to 110 Master’s and PhD student researchers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields over a three-year period in the partner nation. Resultantly, candidates from eligible universities in Canada and India will participate in a 12 to 24 weeks’ programme with selected university research laboratories in the partner countries.
Under the cross-border industry-academic cooperation, up to 40 Master’s and PhD student researchers over a span of three years from each side will participate in a 16 to 24 weeks’ research programme with industry partners located in the counterpart country. The collaboration is expected to lead to new knowledge creation, joint scientific publications, industrial exposure, intellectual property generation, among others. This deal will further strengthen India’s long-standing relationship in science, technology and innovation cooperation with Canada, which currently hosts over 100,000 Indian students.
India and Canada had signed a cooperation agreement in higher education in 2010, which covers student and faculty exchange, research and curriculum development, organization of workshop and seminars, twining between institutions of higher learning, mutual recognition of educational qualifications and policy dialogue, among others. More recently, deals between the two nations have covered the fields of science and technology, petroleum and natural gas, intellectual property rights, higher education and nuclear energy.