Collaborative efforts: New visiting scholar program will deepen Purdue’s research partnerships with India

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue University’s goal of fostering collaborative international relationships to find solutions for global challenges will be the focal point during the first-ever Overseas Visiting Doctoral Fellowship program.

Twenty-five Ph.D. students from 18 different Indian higher education institutions will arrive at Purdue in January through a partnership with India’s Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), that country’s equivalent to the U.S. National Science Foundation. Purdue is the only university in the U.S. to have a partnership with the organization for this program.

The fellows from India have been invited to work in the laboratories of Purdue faculty members in order to contribute to research projects they jointly proposed through a competitive application process. Nineteen departments will host fellows in areas covering science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Stipend and travel expenses will be fully funded by SERB.

“The program will provide Purdue faculty with a mechanism to develop new and impactful research relationships with key Indian counterparts, or sustain and deepen existing ones,” said Suresh Garimella, Purdue’s executive vice president for research and partnerships. “India is a partner country of top strategic importance for Purdue and we are very proud to be receiving the first sizable cohort of fellows through this new and innovative program.”

SERB is investing approximately $30,000 per student for a total annual commitment of $750,000 a year.

“The Overseas Visiting Doctoral Fellowship program brings an enormous amount of value to Indian researchers as it can trigger deeper and more meaningful scientific partnership between the Indian and U.S. research fraternity,” said Rajiv Kumar Tayal, secretary of SERB. “We believe that these kinds of partnerships nucleated at Purdue University involving research students and their mentors from both economies for the pursuit of science are significant to address dramatic changes in size and structure of the scientific enterprise.” 

Writer: Heidi Arola, harola@purdue.edu 

Sources: Suresh Garimella, Purdue University executive vice president for research and partnerships

Rajiv Kumar Tayal, secretary of Science and Engineering Research Board of India