Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur has been granted funding worth Rs. 80 Crore from the central government under the Scheme for Promotion of Academic and Research Collaboration (SPARC). The funding was released under Scheme for Phase 2 of the programme which was set up by the Ministry of Education for promoting international research and outreach.
Adrijit Goswami leading the Pan India Coordination of the programme while speaking about the funding received stated that the funds will be helpful in promoting virtual and e-learning. He also added that with the phase 2 of the fund along with the structured format of e-workshops, webinars, online classes and research in virtual mode, the score of productive academic collaborations at SPARC Approved collaborating institutes look positive.
He also pointed out that online education has its own drawbacks however on the brighter side it may increase the opportunities especially for those students who otherwise find such collaborative work tiresome due to the extended physical visits.
About SPARC
While speaking about the SPARC Director Virendra K Tewari stated that the programme launched in 2019-20 by the Ministry of Education with the sole purpose of promoting research-based learning.
Research Areas
According to the data provided, close to 400 research proposals have been approved for the funding from which over 26 percent are focused on areas including Advanced Functional and Metamaterials, Evolutionary Biology, Structural Genomics and Artificial Intelligence and Cognitive Science.
Tiwari also added that the data provided indicates a shift towards trans-disciplinary research addressing the global challenges and cutting edge research. The insights will also boost international collaboration opportunities for Science and Technology institutes in India by aligning their trust areas with global trends.
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