The IITB-Monash Research Academy is a graduate

research Research is "creative and systematic work undertaken to increase the stock of knowledge". It involves the collection, organization and analysis of evidence to increase understanding of a topic, characterized by a particular attentiveness t ...

school located in

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the secon ...

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

. It opened in 2008 as a joint venture between the

Indian Institute of Technology Bombay The Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT Bombay or IITB) is a public research university and technical institute in Powai, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. It is considered as one of the best engineering universities in India and is top ranke ...

and

Monash University Monash University () is a public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Named for prominent World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. The university h ...

. Students of the Academy study for a dual

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...

from both institutions, spending time in both Australia and India, with supervisors from both IITB and Monash. The establishment of the Academy marks the first time that an Australian university has set up an extensive physical presence in India.

History

In 2006, then Vice-Chancellor of Monash

Richard Larkins Richard Graeme Larkins (born 17 May 1943) is the former Chancellor of La Trobe University. He was the Vice-Chancellor and President of Monash University from 2003 to June 2009. Prior to this, he had a distinguished career in medicine, scientifi ...

went on a tour of India with senior Monash staff and an executive from

BHP Billiton BHP Group Limited (formerly known as BHP Billiton) is an Australian multinational mining, metals, natural gas petroleum public company that is headquartered in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The Broken Hill Proprietary Company was founded ...

. The tour was led by Monash Dean of Engineering Tam Sridhar, an Indian-Australian professor. The team met with research institutions, public officials and industry research bodies around the country. After extensive negotiations, Monash University and IITB signed an agreement to undertake joint research and establish a graduate research school together. The agreement was signed on 7 March 2006 in the presence of then Australian Prime Minister

John Howard John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007, holding office as leader of the Liberal Party. His eleven-year tenure as prime minister is the ...

. The Academy attracted early industry support, with a commitment from

and

Infosys Infosys Limited is an Indian multinational information technology company that provides business consulting, information technology and outsourcing services. The company was founded in Pune and is headquartered in Bangalore. Infosys is the ...

to joint research and commercialisation. The Academy was officially opened on 26 November 2008. 36 research projects began immediately, with several hundred further projects in the planning phase. By June 2009, 41 PhD students were enrolled at the Academy. By 2012, that number had risen to 80. It is expected that the Academy will eventually house around 250-300 PhD students at any one time.

Research

The Academy's research encompasses a range of issues of concern to industry and government in Australia and India. This includes

clean energy Clean may refer to: * Cleaning, the process of removing unwanted substances, such as dirt, infectious agents, and other impurities, from an object or environment * Cleanliness, the state of being clean and free from dirt Arts and media Music ...

, water,

biotechnology Biotechnology is the integration of natural sciences and engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms, cells, parts thereof and molecular analogues for products and services. The term ''biotechnology'' was first used b ...

, infrastructure engineering,

stem cells In multicellular organisms, stem cells are undifferentiated or partially differentiated cells that can differentiate into various types of cells and proliferate indefinitely to produce more of the same stem cell. They are the earliest type of ...

, advanced

computational engineering Computational science and engineering (CSE) is a relatively new discipline that deals with the development and application of computational models and simulations, often coupled with high-performance computing, to solve complex physical problems ...

and

nanotechnology Nanotechnology, also shortened to nanotech, is the use of matter on an atomic, molecular, and supramolecular scale for industrial purposes. The earliest, widespread description of nanotechnology referred to the particular technological goal o ...

. The Academy has five Foundation Partners, each of whom will contribute around $1–2 million in research sponsorship in the early years of the Academy. The Foundation Partners are

, Shell, the

CSIRO The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO) is an Australian Government agency responsible for scientific research. CSIRO works with leading organisations around the world. From its headquarters in Canberra, CSIRO ...

and the Australian Stem Cell Centre.

Location

The Academy is located at IITB's Campus in

Powai Powai (Pronunciation: əʋəiː is an upscale residential neighbourhood located in central Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. It is situated on the banks of Powai Lake, and is bound by the hills of Vikhroli Parksite to the south-east, Chandiva ...

, Mumbai.

Governance

The IITB-Monash Research Academy is governed by a Board of Directors, Advisory Council (a consultative body) and Chief Executive Officer. The Board consists primarily of senior management figures from Monash and IITB. The Advisory Council is made up of leaders from scientific research and industry, including Narayana Murthy (founder of Indian software Company

) and prominent Australian biologist Professor Gustav Nossal. Mohan Krishnamoorthy was the CEO of the Academy from 2008-2015. Professor Murali Sastry was the CEO from 2015-2020. The current CEO is M. S. Unnikrishnan.

References

External links

Official IITB-Monash Research Academy Website

Official Monash University Website

Official IITB Website

{{Monash University

Monash University IIT Bombay Education in Mumbai