IIT Kharagpur University of Manchester launch dual award PhD programme

    Kolkata, Mar 19 (PTI) Indian Institute of Technology
(IIT) Kharagpur and The University of Manchester have launched
a dual award PhD programme, an official statement said
on Friday.
    While IIT Kharagpur has already established similar
programmes with universities in Australia, New Zealand and
Canada, this is the first time such a joint programme has been
set up with a British university, the institute said.
    The PhD programme, which will represent the next phase
of the strategic partnership of the two leading institutes in
India and the UK, will also serve to consolidate and build on
existing research collaborations across a number of thematic
areas including environmental geochemistry, biomaterials and
Industry 4.0.
    "Students will be jointly recruited and spend time in
both Manchester and Kharagpur, benefiting from the expertise,
facilities and infrastructure of two globally renowned
institutions," the statement said.
    The programme will be launched this July and will be
open to IIT and IISc graduates from India during its initial
phase.
    Successful candidates will be required to enroll at
both institutions spending the first year at IIT Kharagpur
with the remaining time of the programme split between The
University of Manchester and IIT Kharagpur according to the
project requirements as determined by the supervisors and the
Joint Programme Board.
    Both institutions will be responsible for making their
own award but the two components would form a single research
experience managed cooperatively by both institutions.
    The successful doctoral candidates will receive
parchments from both institutions - each prominently
mentioning the joint nature of the work and the partner
institute's name.
    Former Dean, International Relations, IIT Kharagpur
Prof Baidurya Bhattacharya, who was instrumental in setting up
of this programme said, "This Dual Award PhD is a unique
partnership made possible by the trust and respect we have
developed over the years for each other's research quality and
academic standards."
    Starting from defining the doctoral project, selection
and admission of the student, to supervision, thesis work and
evaluation, and finally award of the degree, everything is
jointly administered.
    "I believe this programme will provide the template
for equal partnership between IITs and top British
universities in the future," he said.
    Professor Stephen Flint, Associate Vice-President
International, The University of Manchester was quoted as
saying, "The dual PhD with IIT Kharagpur is testament to the
university's strategic ambitions to build world-class research
links with India and to encourage more student mobility
between the two regions."
    He further added, "The University of Manchester
established research partnerships with IIT Kharagpur some
years ago and this dual award PhD programme is the next step
in deepening our relationship, with academic colleagues in
both institutions sharing supervision of the PhD students, who
will spend 2 years in Manchester and 2 years in Kharagpur."
    Faculty members from the two institutions will jointly
define projects which are approved by a Joint Programme Board.
    As per the umbrella MoU signed in 2017, some of the
areas for potential joint projects include Biomedical
Informatics, Advanced Materials, Smart Textiles and Earth-
Environment-Water Sciences. Several potential collaborations
between faculty members of both institutions have already been
identified with encouragement of the development of further
collaborations. PTI SUS
RG RG

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)