India-Australia education ties still strong
Seema Singh -
Wednesday, August 05, 2009 3:02 PM
Despite the souring of ‘education' relationship between India and Australia, in the wake of recent attacks on Indian students there, institutional ties remain intact.
The first plans of the $10 million IITB-Monash (University) Research Academy, to be built at IIT in Mumbai, have been released. The Academy is expected to be ready for occupation in early 2011 and will have nine labs and can accommodate 350 researchers, though it has already begun taking students.
Acting CEO of the Academy Mohan Krishnamoorthy says there was strong demand for entry to the academy --1500 applications were received for June 2009 intake. Twenty-two researchers were finally selected.
It's great to learn that so many students want to do PhD. The joke in the academic community is that in many subjects, the number of PhDs produced in India is about the same as produced by ONE university in the US. We are talking numbers here, not quality!
But here students have a supervisor in both institutions, must study in both Australia and India and receive a dual PhD from Monash University in Melbourne and IITB in Mumbai. It's hoped the academy will support 350 research projects by 2015, says Krishnamoorthy.
The Aacemy plan
If you are thinking why make such a song-and-dance about a research academy, read this report which says the PhD number in India is growing by 20%, but in China by 85%. And this PhD survey which says why IITians don't go for PhD.
So maybe a fancy building, a foreign tie-up and a corporate management culture (most members of the advisory council are from the industry, with Infy's NR Narayana Murthy as the chairman) will inspire more students!