MANCHESTER: IIT Kharagpur & University of Manchester launch dual award PhD programme

MANCHESTER: While IIT Kharagpur has already
established similar programmes with universities in Australia, New Zealand and
Canada, this is the first time such a joint programme has been set up with a
British university, the institute said.

The PhD programme, which will represent the next phase of the strategic
partnership of the two leading institutes in India and the UK, will also serve
to consolidate and build on existing research collaborations across a number of
thematic areas including environmental geochemistry, biomaterials and Industry
4.0.

“Students will be jointly recruited and spend time in both Manchester and
Kharagpur, benefiting from the expertise, facilities and infrastructure of two
globally renowned institutions,” the statement said.

The programme will be launched this July and will be open to IIT and IISc
graduates from India during its initial phase.

Successful candidates will be required to enroll at both institutions spending
the first year at IIT Kharagpur with the remaining time of the programme split
between The University of Manchester and IIT Kharagpur according to the project
requirements as determined by the supervisors and the Joint Programme Board.

Both institutions will be responsible for making their own award but the two
components would form a single research experience managed cooperatively by
both institutions.

The successful doctoral candidates will receive parchments from both
institutions – each prominently mentioning the joint nature of the work and the
partner institute’s name.

Former Dean, International Relations, IIT Kharagpur Prof Baidurya Bhattacharya,
who was instrumental in setting up of this programme said, “This Dual
Award PhD is a unique partnership made possible by the trust and respect we
have developed over the years for each other’s research quality and academic
standards.”

Starting from defining the doctoral project, selection and admission of the
student, to supervision, thesis work and evaluation, and finally award of the
degree, everything is jointly administered.

“I believe this programme will provide the template for equal partnership
between IITs and top British universities in the future,” he said.

Professor Stephen Flint, Associate Vice-President International, The University
of Manchester was quoted as saying, “The dual PhD with IIT Kharagpur is
testament to the university’s strategic ambitions to build world-class research
links with India and to encourage more student mobility between the two
regions.”

He further added, “The University of Manchester established research
partnerships with IIT Kharagpur some years ago and this dual award PhD
programme is the next step in deepening our relationship, with academic
colleagues in both institutions sharing supervision of the PhD students, who
will spend 2 years in Manchester and 2 years in Kharagpur.”

Faculty members from the two institutions will jointly define projects which
are approved by a Joint Programme Board.

As per the umbrella MoU signed in 2017, some of the areas for potential joint
projects include Biomedical Informatics, Advanced Materials, Smart Textiles and
Earth- Environment-Water Sciences. Several potential collaborations between
faculty members of both institutions have already been identified with encouragement
of the development of further collaborations.