Research links strengthened between India and Sydney

The five-year agreement worth AU$500,000 will help develop medical interventions using modern engineering approaches to address health and medical issues. It will also allow PhD students from the University of Sydney and IIT Madras greater mobility between Australia and India.

University of Sydney Vice-Chancellor and Principal Dr Michael Spence said the agreement was an important step in further strengthening the University's collaborations with India.

"The University of Sydney has been working with Indian institutions to tackle common problems that both nations face, including improving food security and child and maternal health," said Dr Spence.

"This agreement will allow our researchers to work together and improve our understanding in critical areas like clinical health and medicine and obesity, cardiovascular disease and diabetes.”

“IIT Madras and the University of Sydney have many synergies in research collaboration, and this agreement will enable us to explore these fully. Given the complementary skills and facilities at the two institutions, the outlook is bright for a significant outcome from this initiative," said Professor R. Nagarajan, Dean of International and Alumni Relations at IIT Madras.

The memorandum of understanding is the first agreement of its type between the University of Sydney and an Indian institution. Taking a multidisciplinary approach, the Faculty of Engineering and Information Technologies, the Faculty of Health Sciences, Sydney Medical School, Sydney Nursing School, the Charles Perkins Centre and the George Institute for Global Health will collaborate with IIT Madras to focus on research into clinical health and medicine.

The University is engaged in more than 50 research collaborations and networks with partners in India and South Asia, including partnerships such as the South Asia Infant Feeding Research Network which addresses challenges in maternal and infant health.