Deakin University, Australia signs a joint doctoral agreement with AcSIR, India to offer research opportunities in science and engineering for students in India and Australia
New Delhi, 29th June, 2022 : Deakin University, Australia, and Academy of Scientific & Innovative Research (AcSIR), India have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to offer joint program in research and study to doctoral research students in India and Australia.
The MoU was signed in Melbourne in presence of senior representatives from Deakin University and AcSIR including Professor Bas Baskaran (Associate Dean, International and Partnerships) and Professor Rajender Sangwan (Director, AcSIR).
Through this association, candidates in the JDP will be enrolled at both institutions, jointly supervised on their thesis, and will receive two separate awards – an award from the AcSIR meeting AcSIR’s requirements and an award from Deakin University on meeting minimum requirements. Applicants about to commence a doctoral program in the either of the institutions are also eligible to apply.
Prof Bas Baskaran, Associate Dean, International and Partnerships, remarked, “Deakin has a strong research culture and state of the art facilities and we’re always looking to bolster partnerships to create a global impact. Deakin and AcSIR have identified areas of shared research interests in science and engineering and this MoU reflects a partnership approach to establishing collaborative academic activities and research projects. Through this association, doctoral research students will be able to benefit from the expertise and infrastructure of both institutions.”
This collaboration provides an opportunity to students working in CSIR labs and registered at AcSIR, to work closely with Deakin faculty members on a range of chosen areas that includes (but not restricted to) energy, advanced materials and manufacturing, AI, AR, VR, defence research, and food, agriculture, and environment. Candidates will be enrolled in the doctoral program simultaneously at each institution in accordance with each institution’s admission and course requirements.
“AcSIR was established as an ‘Institution of National Importance’ and our aim is to train some of the best of tomorrow’s science and technology leaders. This partnership with Deakin recognizes the value of joint supervision as a vehicle to enhance international research networks and provide opportunities to advance scholarship and the generation of knowledge for doctoral research students. It entails advantage of peer-to-peer learning as well as provides international collegiality to AcSIR students,” said Professor Rajender Sangwan, Director, AcSIR.
Deakin has committed to provide each candidate a full tuition fee waiver for up to four years once the candidate is admitted into the doctoral program at Deakin. A candidate will get an opportunity to spend upto 12 months onshore in Australia to pursue research and will be paid a stipend, equivalent to the Australian Research Training Program (RTP) rate ($A28,600 per annum tax exempt indexed annually, 2021 rate), paid fortnightly to the candidate during her/his time spent at Deakin.