New Delhi, 27 September 2016: Thales and Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi (IIT Delhi) today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to create a jointly supervised IIT Delhi-CNRS PhD fellowship programme. The MoU was signed in the presence of His Excellency Mr. Alexandre Ziegler, Ambassador of France to India.
Through this fellowship programme, Thales and IIT Delhi intend to facilitate scientific collaboration between Indian and French laboratories and boost industrial research by strengthening industry-academia relations.
The students to be selected for this fellowship programme will conduct research in both countries under the management of an Indian and a French supervisor respectively from the IIT Delhi and one of the identified CNRS laboratories in France. In the first batch, up to 4 students will be selected for research in advanced electronics, electromagnetics and complex systems engineering.
Welcoming the MoU, H.E. Mr Alexandre Ziegler, Ambassador of France to India said, “France is a country synonymous with creativity and innovation, and is at the forefront of cutting-edge technologies. We are delighted that brilliant Indian students choose to study in France and we wish to welcome many more. The Thales IIT Delhi-CNRS PhD fellowship programme is another testament to the robust scientific cooperation that is such an essential part of the excellent bilateral relations between France and India.”
Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Antoine Caput, VP & Country Director for Thales in India said “We are delighted to join hands with IIT Delhi as it marks an important step forward in our endeavour to associate with the finest academic institutes in India. We believe such associations will play a great role in fostering an ecosystem for research and consequently securing innovations for tomorrow.”
Prof. V. Ramgopal Rao, Director, IIT Delhi said “We are delighted to collaborate with Thales as it will provide an opportunity to our students access to industry leading technologies in some of the finest academic laboratories in India and France. This will surely strengthen industry-academia relations and provide unique opportunities to students interested in researching on technologies with global applications.”
Dr. Srinivas Kaveri, Director, CNRS, India added “We are excited to contribute to Indo-French research initiatives and believe these will play a strategic role in not just creating innovations but also in strengthening relations between both nations. We look forward to collaborating with IIT Delhi and Thales in enabling and guiding the research work of the selected students.”
By partnering with world-leading universities, Thales seeks to foster innovation and develop an ecosystem for scientific and industrial research. In India, Thales has formed similar partnerships with the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore and the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay in October 2015 and January 2016 respectively.
Present in India since 1953, Thales today has over 300 employees working with its wholly-owned Indian subsidiary, Thales India Pvt. Ltd. Headquartered in New Delhi, Thales has other operational offices and sites that are spread across Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Mumbai, among others. Since the beginning, Thales has been playing an essential role in India’s growth story by sharing its technologies and expertise in Defence, Transport and Aerospace markets.
About IIT Delhi
Indian Institute of Technology Delhi is a public research university located in Delhi, India. It was declared to be an Institute of National Importance by Government of India under Institutes of Technology Act. IIT Delhi is among the top two technical Institutes in India which have been listed in Quacquarelli Symonds’ (QS) list of top 200 universities globally in 2015.
About CNRS
The Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (National Centre for Scientific Research) is a public organization under the responsibility of the French Ministry of Education and Research. Founded in 1939 by governmental decree, CNRS has the following missions:
- To evaluate and carry out all research capable of advancing knowledge and bringing social, cultural, and economic benefits for society;
- To contribute to the application and promotion of research results;
- To develop scientific information;
- To support research training; and
- To participate in the analysis of the national and international scientific climate and its potential for evolution in order to develop a national policy.
As the largest fundamental research organisation in Europe, CNRS carried out research in all fields of knowledge, through its ten institutes.