Northwestern, IIT Bombay Pledge Collaboration to Advance Education, Research
The two institutions signed a memorandum of understanding on July 8 to promote future scholarship
At an event trumpeting the value of interdisciplinary scientific research and promoting enhanced collaboration between higher education in the US and India, officials from Northwestern University and Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) pledging an earnest commitment to work together to foster lively opportunities for students, researchers, and scholars alike.
Northwestern University Provost Kathleen Hagerty and Subhasis Chaudhuri, Director of IIT Bombay, endorsed the MOU at IIT Bombay’s Faculty Alumni Network and Distinguished Alumni Meeting hosted at the Norris University Center on Northwestern’s Evanston Campus on July 8.
The meeting was organized by Neelesh Patankar, professor of mechanical engineering at Northwestern Engineering and a 1993 IIT Bombay alumnus, with support from the Chicago chapter of IIT Bombay alumni and the office of Ravi Gudi, Dean of Alumni and Corporate Relations at IIT Bombay.
With a commitment to sharing expertise and resources, the Northwestern-IIT Bombay MOU aims to uplift the experience and results at both institutions through efforts such as research, training, and symposia. As two of the world’s premier engineering and technology universities and research institutions, the agreement capitalizes upon Northwestern and IIT Bombay’s strengths in ever-evolving fields such as electrical engineering, computer science, and chemical engineering.
Chaudhuri labeled the MOU a marriage of “two beautiful minds” while Hagerty said the agreement promised to strengthen the intellectual eminence of both institutions and propel invigorating discovery.
“We at Northwestern are confident our continued collaboration with IIT Bombay … will contribute to new and vital research,” Hagerty said.
Touting the value of interdisciplinary teams
IIT Bombay’s annual Faculty Alumni Network and Distinguished Alumni Meeting assembles accomplished US-based alumni alongside senior administration and faculty from IIT Bombay to discuss the Institute’s strategic growth and future trajectory. It is also designed to explore emerging areas of research and potential partnerships, including relationships with US universities such as Northwestern.
Characterizing the event’s collaborative tone and energy, Julio M. Ottino, Dean of Northwestern’s McCormick School of Engineering, followed the MOU’s signing with a plenary talk highlighting the dynamic and necessary role interdisciplinary collaboration plays in innovation and problem-solving.
Ottino’s talk detailed the major themes of his book, The Nexus: Automated Thinking for a Complex World – The New Convergence of Art, Technology, and Science (MIT Press, 2022), coauthored with designer and entrepreneur Bruce Mau. Specifically, Ottino championed the critical need to overcome stereotypes of those in other fields and the importance of understanding how others think to fuel scientific progress.
“The number of problems affecting humanity now are enormous … and they cannot be attacked with the tools we have applied in the past,” said Ottino, who is stepping down as dean of Northwestern Engineering at the close of July.
Ottino lobbied for new, multidisciplinary ways of thinking to address pressing global issues such as human disease and climate change.
“The best ideas happen at intersections [of distinct disciplines],” Ottino concluded.
Sharing ideas, pursuing progress
The day-long event also included talks by US Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi, Ambassador Somnath Ghosh from the Consul General of India in Chicago, and Barbara Snyder, the former president of Case Western Reserve University.
During the morning and afternoon, meanwhile, researchers and scholars, including Patankar, offered breakout sessions on topics such as microelectronics, the circular economy, engineering medicine, and design in engineering and education.
The event also featured a Q&A examining the idea of enhanced cooperation between higher education in the US and India. Haggerty, Ottino, and Chaudhuri joined IIT Bombay alumnus Pratim Biswas, Dean of the University of Miami School of Engineering, and entrepreneur Bharat Desai, in covering a diverse array of topics, including: the intensifying value of interdisciplinary, inter-institutional collaboration; the future of online education; higher education’s role in teaching entrepreneurship; cultivating interdisciplinary problem-solving in students; and overcoming some of the frequent barriers to fruitful partnerships.
“Massive synergies can be unlocked by leveraging the strengths of each other,” Desai said.