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BIT Mesra and IIT Bhubaneswar Collaborate for Research and Student Exchange
Collaborations between premier institutions of engineering usually extend their impact way beyond the confines of their campuses. This is what Birla Institute of Technology (BIT) Mesra and Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bhubaneswar are aiming for by signing the five-year agreement that will innovate and change the face of collaboration for research, advancement, and higher education.The agreement is beyond the typical academic Memorandum of Understanding. It is a mutual agreement to form a structure within which students, researchers and faculty members of both institutions will learn from one another, address and solve the challenges of the world, and design and develop technologies that are relevant both nationally and internationally.
A Partnership without an Expiry Date
The five-year agreement is a mutual commitment that will serve as a construct for collaboration for higher education in the areas specified within the agreement.
Per the partnership, BIT Mesra and IIT Bhubaneswar will be involved in:
- Collaborative research
- Exchanging students
- Exchanging faculty
- Co-supervising students in all cycles
- Internships
- Technology and innovation
- Teaching programs
- Building capacity
The partnership will also enhance the quality of research and other academic activities through consultancy projects, tailored training programs, seminars, workshops, conferences, GIAN courses, and micro-credit programs.
More Than Just a Student Mobility Agreement
While this agreement is often seen as promoting more student mobility across borders, it is much more multifaceted than that. The agreement also commits the institutes to the joint development of research proposals and bids, collaboration on the joint development of intellectual property, the commercialization of joint research, and the provision of specialized research facilities. Researchers at both institutes will be able to work on difficult and demanding problems, and be able to use and share advanced facilities for research along with financial and scientific resources.
The Agreement is a Catalyst for Growth
The agreement was signed by Prof. Indranil Manna, Vice Chancellor of BIT Mesra, and Prof. Shreepad Karmalkar, Director of IIT Bhubaneswar. Describing the agreement as a catalyst for growth, Prof. Manna noted that the agreement demonstrates BIT Mesra’s commitment to growth with research and innovation. Prof. Karmalkar stated that the collaboration would harness the power of both institutions to build research, technology, and an educational framework that will meet the needs of both the country and the world.
Enhancing Collaboration and Research: Interdisciplinary and Collaborative Research
As noted by BIT Mesra Dean of Research, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship Prof. Raju Poddar, the collaboration would enhance interdisciplinary research and provide significant advantages for both students and faculty.
Impacts to Students
For students, collaborations such as this usually provide opportunities that a single institute cannot provide on its own. The agreement may provide a combination of the following:
- Joint research projects across campuses
- Cooperative research faculty from both institutes
- Improved internship opportunities
- Comprehensive research projects
- Joint innovation projects
- Academic collaboration and networking
For Ph.D. students, joint research supervision and an extended research infrastructure
Enhancing Research Systems in India
More Indian schools of higher education are formally collaborating to undertake research instead of remaining isolated and conducting research individually. The National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 advocates for multipurpose education and inter-institutional collaboration as well as research-focused universities that can help provide solutions to complicated problems that society as a whole is facing.
An example of how such collaborations can help build synergies rather than compete with each other is the BIT Mesra–IIT Bhubaneswar partnership. To enable and promote synergies between the two institutions, a Joint Agreement Implementation Committee will be established by both institutes and will review and regulate the collaborative synergies regularly.
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