Union HRD Minister and French Minister for Higher Education and Research Meet

Union HRD Minister and French Minister for Higher Education and Research Meet: MOUs Signed in Their Presence

From Our Correspondent
New Delhi---Ms. Valerie Pecresse, Minister for Higher Education and Research, France met Shri Kapil Sibal, Minister of Human Resource Development, here today. A large delegation of senior academics and scientists accompanied the French Minister including President of UTT University Mr. Christian Lerminiaux. The Indian side consisted of Dr. T. Ramasami, Secretary, DST, Shri Ashok Thakur, Addl. Secretary, MHRD, Shri Amit Khare, JS(ICC), MHRD, Prof. Devang Khakhar, Director, IIT-Bombay and Prof. Govindan Rangarajan, Head, International Division of IISc, Bangalore.

Both leaders appreciated the increasing cooperation between the two countries in the field of education and scientific research and discussed the need to have more arrangements for cooperation in the field of education and research such as Nanotechnology, Biotechnology, Weather prediction, Aerospace engineering, Advanced Mathematics, etc.

The following two MOUs were signed during the meeting:

1. Memorandum for setting up an INTERNATIONAL JOINT LABORATORY between INSTITUT DE RECHERCHE POUR LE DEVELOPPEMENT (France) and the INDIAN INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE, Bangalore (India)

This MOU is for setting up a research and training partnership structure in the form of a Joint International Laboratory called: Cellule Franco-Indienne de Recherche en Sciences de l’Eau (CEFIRSE) or Indo-French Cell for Water Sciences (IFCWS). The Laboratory could strike partnerships with other research structures and organisations in India, France and abroad.

2. Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for Academic Collaboration between The Indian Institutes of Technology, India and ParisTech – Paris Institute of Science and Technology, Paris, France

This MOU is between 7 Indian Institutes of Technology (Kharagpur, Bombay, Madras, Kanpur, Delhi, Guwahati and Roorkee) and Institutions under ParisTech namely:

- AgroParisTech (Institut des Sciences et Industries du Vivant et de l'Environnement),Arts et Métiers ParisTech ( Ecole Nationale Supérieure d'Arts et Métiers),Chimie ParisTech (Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Chimie Paris),
- Ecole des Ponts ParisTech (Ecole Nationale des Ponts et Chaussées),
- Ecole Polytechnique,
- ENSAE ParisTech (Ecole Nationale de la Statistique et de l'Administration Economique),
- ENSTA (Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Techniques Avancées),
- ESPCI Parisech (Ecole Supérieure de Physique et de Chimie Industrielles de la Ville de Paris),
- HEC Paris (Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales),
- Institut d'Optique Graduate School,
- MINES ParisTech (Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Mines de Paris), and
- Telecom ParisTech (Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Télécommunications)

This MOU is for collaboration in research and education like:

· Promotion of institutional exchanges ;
· Student exchanges,
· Organizing symposia, conferences, short courses and meetings on research issues ;
· Joint research and continuing education programs; and
· Exchange information pertaining to developments in teaching, student development and research at each institution.

The MOU also provides that IITs and ParisTech may collaborate to participate in the European Commission initiatives such as the Erasmus Mundus, External Cooperation Window by partnering with other interested institutions.

Earlier, senior officials of France and India discussed in detail and finalized the draft MOU regarding IIT-Rajasthan which provides for a French Consortium to academically and scientifically accompany the Institute to develop areas in which France possesses considerable expertise such as: Technologies for Health; Renewable Energy (especially Solar Energy); Aerospace; Quantum Computing; Systems Integration and Design; Mechanical Engineering; Technologies for Art, Conservation and Heritage; as well as any other areas to be decided by mutual consent. This Consortium will be composed of French higher education, research institutions, and universities. When applicable, it will also have French and Indian industrial partners. The MOU also provides for the French parties to commit to work together, and to contribute substantially towards the establishment of a joint Center of excellence and also research laboratories in the top priority fields of the Institute in the next five years.

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