· Up to INR 20 Crores funding to academic institutes for research across areas of energy, healthcare and aviation over the next five years
· Propel research with breakthrough innovative ideas with large scale impact and industry-academia collaboration
To build synergy between academic institutes, labs and industries, the Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), a Statutory body of Department of Science & Technology, Government of India and GE’s John F Welch Technology Centre (JFWTC), Bengaluru are partnering for research and development in technology across the areas of energy, healthcare and aviation. Undertaken as part of the Fund for Industrial Research Engagement (SERB-FIRE), the overarching aim is to support research and development to solve critical national and global problems across these key industries. The collaboration will further help drive impetus to create a transformative research mind-set to foster novel and impactful research ecosystem in the country. The Program was launched by the SERB in collaboration with GE India on July 23, 2021.
The GE and SERB partnership specifically aim to promote innovation and solve specific challenges in areas that are i) directly of relevance to the industry, ii) Industry-academia collaboration with focus on industry-relevant skill development leading to employability, iii) Research and joint product development by industry and academia.
Speaking on the collaboration, Alok Nanda, Chief Technology Officer, GE South Asia & CEO, GE India Technology Centre said, “GE India Technology center is a core innovation engine for GE; with 6000+ scientists and engineers committed to solving the toughest challenges for India and for the world. This mission drives us forward to build and foster an ecosystem that breeds innovation and provides the right opportunity to create new ideas and technology solutions for the challenges identified. Our partnership with SERB is a part of our consistent and long-term commitment to strengthen the research and innovation capabilities in India to improve the quality of life for our citizens and for people around the world. Academia will play a huge role in this and we are excited to see the possibilities of how some of the best ideas can solve the toughest challenges in our country.”
Professor Ashutosh Sharma, Secretary, Department of Science & Technology, said, “Collaborating with industry players has been a crucial part of our objective to address the challenges in the research and innovation space as elaborated in the draft Science, Technology and Innovation Policy 2021. We are eager to partner with GE to create an ecosystem that would propel our growth in research work with national impact. I am sure the co-funding arrangement with GE will bring out some of the best ideas across Energy, Aviation and Healthcare. The fund is a step in the right direction to give a much-needed impetus to building an innovation mindset in the country.”
Prof Sandeep Verma, Secretary, SERB, shared “SERB and GE partnership is another one-of-a-kind initiative to actively contribute towards futuristic problems in science and technology. The major focus towards healthcare, energy and aviation through this collaboration will play a dominant role in putting India in the major technology roadmap. We are looking forwards to this and believe it will open many doors for the eminent scientists in the country and industry to actively contribute towards the S&T sector. I welcome this initiative and look at it with utmost optimism for both SERB and GE.”
First call for proposal shall be opened shortly to invite research proposals from academia and research labs along defined problem statements. The proposals will need to be in one of the following themes: In Healthcare on - Remote monitoring technologies, artificial intelligence and medical devices; in Gas power on --advanced materials and coatings, decarbonization; and Renewable energy – on themes of optimization – simulations and advanced repair solution.
About GE in South Asia
GE has been operating in South Asia since 1902. Today, its 19,000 employees based here work in research, development, product design, manufacturing, project execution and services. Over the decades GE has built deep partnerships with local joint venture partners, customers and suppliers. GE’s partners and customers in India include Government enterprises, large Indian conglomerates as well small and medium sized companies in Aviation, Healthcare and Energy sectors. GE’s people are diverse and dedicated, operating with the highest level of integrity and focus to fulfil GE’s mission and deliver for its customers. For more, visit www.ge.com
About SERB
The Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) is a statutory body established through an Act of Parliament, SERB Act 2008. Supporting basic research in emerging areas of science & engineering are the primary and distinctive mandate of the Board. The main goals of SERB are stimulating the search for new knowledge and encouraging invention, discovery, innovation and development by supporting research competitively and at all levels of our research eco-system. It is extending its collaboration to the industries through new programmes to put India at the global level in the science and engineering domain.
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