Partnering with India's premier institutions
By partnering with Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay and Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), the University of Sydney has created student and researcher exchange opportunities.
"We live in a globalised world, and when our students enter the workforce they will have to work with colleagues, clients and stakeholders from around the world. The best way for us to give them the intercultural and interpersonal skills they need for their future careers is to ensure they have international experience as part of their degrees," University of Sydney's Vice-Chancellor and Principal," Dr Michael Spence said.
"The lessons our students learn while visiting a local fishing village in Kerala or sitting in on a meeting with a researcher from IIT Bombay will be just as important as the lessons they learn in a lecture room in Sydney."
We live in globalised a world, and when our students enter the workforce they will have to work with colleagues, clients and stakeholders from around the world.
Vice-Chancellor of the University of Sydney Dr Michael Spence and Registrar of Tata Institute of Social Sciences Dr C. P. Mohan Kumar.
Agreement with Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS)
The partnership with TISS builds on the existing collaboration the University has in place for joint research projects and an initiative started in 2015 to run a three-week intensive field school program.
Following on from the success of the field school program, the new agreement will now see these expanded to provide students with real-world experience through the newly developed Industry and Community Projects Units (ICPUs).
Introduced as part of a revamp to the undergraduate curriculum at the University of Sydney, ICPUs are units of study based around authentic problems set out by industry, community and government organisations.
The real-world projects will be developed and managed by University of Sydney and TISS academic staff and will focus on economic development, environmental sustainability and social inequality. It will build on the initiatives currently in place for University of Sydney field school participants. This year those activities included:
- tailored classes and city field visits in Mumbai
- travel around the southern state of Kerala including visits to:
- local fishing communities in Kozhikode to discuss the sustainability of coastal fishing communities,
- Kochi to look at the effects of tourism and urban development,
- tea plantation districts near the town of Munnar to examine how that industry has been affected by economic restructuring and globalisation.
Agreement with IIT Bombay
The University's partnership with IIT Bombay will facilitate the mobility of doctoral students between the two institutions, with research projects to focus board range of areas including nanoscale science and technology. The University of Sydney has been collaborating with IIT Bombay since 2016 with a number of joint workshops focusing on nanotechnology and advanced manufacturing, this new agreement further cements that relationship.
"The existing ties between IIT Bombay and the University of Sydney will be further strengthened with this agreement. IIT Bombay faculty and students look forward to joint research activities in key areas of mutual benefit," Dean of International Relations at IIT Bombay, Professor Swati Patankar said.
TISS and IIT Bombay join the Indian Institute of Technology Madras as a strategic partner of the University of Sydney.