Cooperation Activities of Dutch Research Universities with India

Dutch universities and research institutes have established partnerships with Indian partners in a wide variety of academic disciplines. There are programmes focused on cooperation in education, such as joint degrees, exchange programmes and PhD sandwich constructions. And there are joint research projects and academic exchange programmes.

Manipal University and Eindhoven University of Technology: Joint Master in Computer Science

Eindhoven University of Technology and Manipal University have set up a joint master’s degree in Computer Science and Engineering, with the support of several multinationals such as Philips, Cap-gemini, LogicaCMG and Cordys. The students do their first year at the University of Manipal and the second year at Eindhoven University of Technology. Students do their final project at one of the four sponsoring companies and after graduation they work for the company for at least three years, at one of their international offices in India, the Netherlands or elsewhere. The companies participate in the process of selecting students. Philips India initiated the joint master, as they needed more and better educated software engineers and software designers.

 

Utrecht University: Short-Stay Fellowships for Indian PhD Students

Utrecht University offers 14 three-month fellowships to Indian PhD students: short-stay fellowships. These fellowships are be financed by Utrecht University and serve both to increase Utrecht University’s understanding of the capacities of Indian PhD students and to introduce Indian PhD students to the many research opportunities available at Utrecht University.

 

Maastricht University: Science, Ethics and Technological Responsibility in Developing and Emerging Countries

Maastricht University has partnerships with 10 Indian en Kenyan universities in a three-year research project on ethics in scientific and technological research, sponsored by the European Commission (7th Framework Programme) with 1.8 million euro. The research project started in March 2008. The researchers focus on the development of frameworks of research ethics and international dialogue between researchers on ethics and research. Prof. Dr. Wiebe Bijker (Professor of Technology and Society) and Dr. Ragna Zeiss (Assistant-Professor in Science and Technology Studies) from Maastricht University are involved in this project. Prof Dr. Wiebe Bijker: "We expect to learn from experiences in Kenya and India with democratising science & technology, involving citizens in science & technology policy developments and with working towards a sustainable society for all."

 

Maastricht University India Institute

The Maastricht University India Institute (MUII) hosts leading researchers in Maastricht and India who collaborate on increasing our understanding of contemporary Indian business and industry. The Institute will take on a leading role as an intermediary in building new strategic networks among researchers as well as among business partners in India and Europe. It strives to increase the understanding of contemporary Indian culture, knowledge and practice in academia, industry, business and government and aims to disseminate the accumulated knowledge to academics and practitioners. In order to achieve academic excellence it strongly aligns with the current strengths of Maastricht University, as found in the Faculty of Law, the Faculty of Health, Medicine & Life Sciences, UNU-MERIT, the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration and the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, particularly in the following fields:
- Food and nutrition (in an Indian context)
- Knowledge management and intellectual property rights
- Management in an Indian context
- Indian cultures of innovation

 

Erasmus University Rotterdam: Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies

The Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies of Erasmus University Rotterdam has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Housing and Urban Development Cooperation of India (HUDCO) in June 2006 to start working together in education and research. The intention is to exchange staff and training material, to develop collaborative courses and to work together in contract research and consultancy. They are also investigating the possibility of a joint Master’s programme.

 

Wageningen University and Research Centre and the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation

Wageningen University and Research Centre and the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation have long established research ties. Research projects include research into applications of biotechnology in agriculture and research into agricultural products such as the mungbean. These research projects are often interdisciplinary, with engineers and social scientist working together.

 

Open University and the Indian National Knowledge Commission

In June 2009, the Open University hosted the world conference of the International Council for Open and Distance Education with the theme "Flexible Education for All: Open, Global, Innovative". One of the keynote speakers was Dr. Sam Pitroda, chairman of the Indian National Knowledge Commission. Members of the National Knowledge Commission and of its Dutch counterpart, the Innovation Platform, participated in a workshop. The National Knowledge Commission has published a report containing recommendations for open and distance education as well as open educational resources.

 

University of Twente

The University of Twente has several research cooperations with Indian Institutes of Technology and universities. Important partners in India are IIT Madras, IIT Dehli, IIT Mumbai, IIS Bangalore Research, Nehru centre Bangalore, Centre of Development Studies and the National Chemical Laboratory. Research topics in which the University of Twente cooperate include chemical engineering, water systems, energy, material science, biotechnology, global dynamics innovation studies and nanotechnology. The university of Twente participates in three FP7 programmes with Indian partners (all related to nanotechnology). In the second half of 2009 a delegation of the university will visit India to look into the possibility of intensifying research cooperation. The University of Twente has an active Indian student association (ISA) and hosts several Indian students in Master and PhD programmes.

 

University of Groningen

The RuG has a number of Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with Indian universities and research institutes: Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in Delhi, Karnatak University in Dharwad, University of Madras in Chennai, Amrita School of Business in Coimbatore, University Department on Chemical Technology of the University of Mumbai. Activities in India are conducted within but also outside these MOUs.
The cooperation activities include:
1. The Centre for Religious Studies of the Faculty of Theology and Religious Studies has a long tradition of research on religious aspects of India. Leader of this programme is Prof. dr. Hans Bakker who focuses on issues such as the history of Ayodhya, Puranic literature, mythology and sacred spaces in Varanasi, Sanskrit; worshipping Shiva.
2. The Population Research Centre of the Faculty of Spatial Sciences has been conducting research on population and reproductive health issues in India since the early 1990s. A delegation of the Faculty of Spatial Sciences in 2005 visited Delhi (JNU, Centre for the Study of Regional Development), Bangalore (ISEC), Dharwad and Mumbai.
3. The Stratingh Institute of the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences collaborates with the UDTC in Mumbai and with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Mumbai, in the field of chemical engineering. Joint research focuses especially on the Jatropha nut and is a collaboration also with the RuG Department of Pharmacy and Wageningen University. The collaboration consists of PhD research and exchange of staff.
4. The Faculty of Economics and Management collaborates with the University of Madras focusing especially on the field of econometrics, statistics, and management. The faculty also collaborates with the Amrita School of Business in Coimbatore. The collaborations consist especially of student exchange, faculty exchange and PhD research.
5. The Accelerator Institute (Kernfysisch Versnellers Institute, KVI) of the RuG receives on a regular basis post-doc researchers from the Inter-university Accelerator Centre in New Delhi.
6. Indian students, both at the University of Groningen and the Hanzehogeschool Groningen, organise in GISA, the Groningen Indian Students Association. GISA focuses not only on the celebration of Indian festivals and social events but also facilitates procedures of residence permits, housing etc for Indian students.