University of Queensland IIT-Delhi Academy of Research celebrates its 100th enrolment

UQIDAR celebrates a major milestone in the universities’ ground-breaking research partnership

India, 3^rd August 2022:  UQIDAR (The University of Queensland & IIT-Delhi Academy of Research), the joint Academy of Research celebrates the milestone of enrolling its 100th student in the academy in July 2022. The joint initiative is paving the way for students and academics to partner on projects addressing some of the most pressing issues affecting India and Australia. 

Commenting on achieving the milestone, Mr. Peter N Varghese AO, Chancellor, The University of Queensland said, “Global partnerships are a key element in UQ’s strategy.  Our partnership with IITD reflects a shared vision, one that is committed to excellence and growth. To see students join us in this belief, and to transform into truly game-changing graduates, gives us immense pleasure. It is a privilege to be back in India to celebrate this achievement and the partnership more broadly.”  

UQIDAR was founded in 2018 and is IITD’s first international joint Ph.D. program, enabling students to gain global qualifications from both institutions. With access to world-class facilities, resources, and dual supervision by UQ and IIT Delhi academics, students benefit from global expertise and access to diverse employment opportunities with international sponsors. The event happens to be a part of the Australian delegation’s visit to India.  

The delegation met the new Director of IIT-Delhi, Professor Rangan Banerjee, to consolidate engagement activities and to discuss the potential expansion of the existing partnership between both universities. 

Talking about both institution’s plans to expand this partnership further, Professor Deborah Terry AO, Vice-Chancellor and President of UQ, said “We are currently in discussion on how we can expand our partnership into other teaching and research fields, in areas of mutual interest to both Australia and India. I am a strong believer in collaboration, and at UQ, we are very aware of the importance of working with industry, governments, and other education and research institutions to achieve mutual goals.”

Meetings between UQ and IITD this week have been helpful for the senior leaders from both institutions to discuss the future direction of the UQ-IITD partnership towards a sustainable model and potential expansion. 

Adding to Mr. Peter’s statement, Professor Rangan Banerjee, Director, IIT-Delhi said, “We are excited about our partnership with the University of Queensland.  The joint Ph.D. Programme enables an excellent learning experience that exploits the synergy and complementarity in faculty expertise and research facilities.  We believe the UQIDAR will enhance our internationalization and help in solving research problems in India and Australia.”

Over the past few years, students from across the globe have considered Queensland as their preferred destination for better scope in terms of academics, profession as well as standard of living. Being well connected with the rest of the world, Queensland is a perfect place for global collaborations and partnerships across various sectors. Today Queensland is steering economic growth through expanded partnerships between research organizations, government, and educational institutions locally and internationally to enhance the state’s competitive strengths and create knowledge-based jobs for the future. 

These partnerships are well facilitated by Study Queensland – the specialist international education and training (IET) unit of Trade and Investment Queensland (TIQ), the Government organization dedicated to promoting Queensland as a premier study destination and a preferred partner for education, training research, and innovation. 

Study Queensland offers initiatives like Student Employability initiatives, which happens to be one of the largest talent programmes in Australia. Its core focus is to develop students’ employability skills and to connect them with alumni and employers.

Bolstering the potential for growth and collaboration of the Queensland and Indian Universities, Mr. Abhinav Bhatia, Senior Commissioner for Trade, Investment & Education – South Asia at Trade & Investment Queensland (Government), said, “When two world-class institutions join forces, remarkable things happen. That is what I witnessed today. The cutting-edge research and strong application to industry and social sectors speak volumes about the kind of work carried out by students at the University of Queensland and IIT-Delhi. We at TIQ (Queensland Govt, Australia) are supportive and extremely proud of this partnership. We are working with both institutions to explore how we can integrate these projects into corporate and government initiatives. This partnership is testament to the University of Queensland’s strategic vision to build strong research links with India and to nurture student mobility between the two regions.”

The delegation from the leading Australian institution The University of Queensland (UQ) has arrived in India for five days and is led by Chancellor Peter N Varghese AO and President and Vice-Chancellor Professor Deborah Terry AO. The delegation will be visiting and meeting various educational institutions, Government bodies, and industry partners during their visit.