Imperial College London Expands India Connect Fund for Joint Scientific Breakthroughs

Imperial College London has announced additional funding for the India Connect Fund, encouraging collaborative research with top Indian institutions. The fund targets Emerging Technologies, Climate and Sustainability, and Health, offering up to GBP 5,000 per project. The initiative supports wide-ranging areas including AI, quantum science, and digital health.

Imperial College London announced on Tuesday new funding for collaborative scientific projects with leading universities and institutes in India through its India Connect Fund.

Launched last year, the fund focuses on Emerging Technologies for Innovation, Climate and Sustainability, and Health. It supports projects between Imperial College London and Indian partners in areas like artificial intelligence, quantum science, and clean energy.

Each successful project, led by principal investigators from both institutions, receives grants of up to GBP 5,000. Professor Ian Walmsley, Provost of Imperial College London, stated, "The India Connect Fund brings together the best scientists from India and Imperial to work in exciting areas such as AI, quantum, and clean energy." He emphasized that this funding will strengthen their links and leverage India's growing research capabilities to tackle global challenges.

The fund also promotes exploratory research, small-scale experiments, prototype development, workshops, and hackathons. It facilitates researcher exchanges between Imperial and partner institutes in India.

Dr. Angela Kedgley of Imperial and Dr. Darshan S. Shah from IIT Bombay, initial recipients of the fund, are working on improving remote monitoring of upper limb movements, which has potential applications in diagnostics and rehabilitation. Similarly, Professor Jane Hirst and Dr. Usha Sriram are collaborating to enhance pregnancy outcomes and lifelong health for millions of Indian women.

(With inputs from agencies.)