Senior leaders from 15 US universities and IIE members visited IIT Hyderabad

Hyderabad, March 02, 2024: In order to investigate and develop bilateral partnerships with Indian higher education institutions, seventeen US universities visited India for seven days, stopping in three different cities- Delhi, Hyderabad, and Mumbai. 

As part of the Centre for International Partnership’s 2023–24 IIE Country Spotlight Series: India, which aims to support larger bi-national efforts to increase U.S.–India collaboration and student and scholar mobility in higher education, the IIE Leadership Delegation took place from February 25 to March 2.

The main intended outcomes for this delegation of U.S. education leaders to visit IIT Hyderabad are:

• Research collaboration in the area of mutual interest
• Exchange of Faculty and Students
• Joint Supervision & Joint degree programs
• Identifying the Mutual Area of Interest in Research
• Setup Centre of Excellence in consortium mode for mutual growth
• Joint Workshops, virtual brainstorming sessions and Joint Research Proposals.

Delegation Team Visited IITH:

1. GianMario Besana, Associate Provost for Global Engagement and Online Learning, DePaul University
2. Robert Glew, Associate Dean and Professor, Michigan State University,
3. Colette Plum, Assistant Dean, Study Abroad, University of California, Berkeley
4. Reitumetse Mabokela, Associate Chancellor and Vice Provost, International Affairs & Global Strategies, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
5. Sammer Jones, Director of Global Relations, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
6. Mary Stegmaier, Vice Provost for International Programs and Associate Professor of Government & Public Affairs, University of Missouri
7. Jane Gatewood, Vice Provost for Global Engagement, University of Rochester
8. Vivian Wang, Vice Provost for Global Engagement, University of Tulsa
9. Jennifer Airey, Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School, University of Tulsa
10. Galyna Melnychuk, Director of International Programs, Mississippi State University
11. Joanna Regulska, Vice Provost and Dean, University of California, Davis
12. Randy Kluver, Associate Provost and Dean, Oklahoma State University
13. Jonathan Koppell, President, Montclair State University
14. Eric Garfunkel, Vice President for Global Affairs, Rutgers University
15. Chris Keller, Dean of the Honors College, East Tennessee State University
16. Akta Sawhney, Senior Program Specialist, IIE India, New Delhi
17. Jonah Kokdyniak, Senior Vice President, IIE USA
18. Syliva Jons, Lead Higher Education Initiatives, IIE USA
19. Sarah Ilchman, Co-President, IIE USA

Deans and faculty members from IITH Joined the meeting:

1. Prof Tarun Kanti Panda, Dean (International Relations)
2. Prof Bharat Bhooshan Panigrahi, Dean (Academics)
3. Dr Mudrika Khandelwal, Dean (Alumni & Corporate Relations)
4. Prof Ashok Kumar Pandey, Head of Department – Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering
5. Dr Shiva Ji, Faculty Incharge (Public Relations)
6. Dr Shuhita Bhattacherjee, Assistant Professor, Department of Liberal Arts
7. Dr Ganesh Ghalme, Assistant Professor, Department of Artificial Intelligence

Prof BS Murty, Director, IITH, welcomed and interacted with the US delegation team through an online mode. He shared his thoughts about expanding US India University Partnerships and shared updates about the formation of iCET – Indo US Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies and 5 research thrust areas under iCET. He mentions various activities and initiatives happening to expand the US- India University Partnerships in Research and Higher Education.

1. Joint research proposals on grand challenges aligned with iCET areas and beyond.
2. Joint academic programs – bilateral student exchanges (UG 3+1 programs), co-supervision of research students, Co-innovations between students from both US and India
3. Collaborative joint degree programs
4. Additionally, initiatives for enhanced academia/industry connections and the establishment of Academia-Industry Consortia (Indo-US) with joint innovations.

Prof Tarun Kanti Panda, Dean (International Relations), IITH, gave a presentation about IITH and explained the uniqueness of IITH, Academic & Industry Collaborations, the Structure of Joint Doctoral Programs with Australian Universities and shared his thoughts on how to expand the collaboration with US Universities. 

Other faculties from IITH who had attended the meeting showed interest in establishing a partnership with the US Universities for research activities for the betterment of growth.