Australian Universities and IIT Madras To Launch ‘Australia-India Centre for Energy’ To Work on SDGs

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The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Madras has partnered with Australian Universities in the creation of “Australia-India Centre for Energy”, which will work towards UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Officials claim that the AICE is designed to encourage collaboration between universities, research institutes, and industry from both sides of the energy sector. The two-day Energy Summit 2022, hosted by IIT Madras in December, will see the virtual Centre launched.

Deakin University in Australia and IIT Madras in India are leading the coordination and driving engagement amongst partners and external stakeholders to increase collaborations between governments, funding agencies, and individual researchers from both countries.

Raghunathan Rengaswamy, Marti Mannariah Gurunath Institute Chair Professor and Dean (Global Engagement), stated that all partners will be on an equal footing and that the Australian Trade and Investment Commission would act as a catalyst for fostering partnerships with the sector from both Australia and other countries.

“The Centre will bring together multidisciplinary capabilities from Australian partners to work on translational and build capabilities for the global energy challenge,” stated K Baskaran (Pro Vice Chancellor International Research Partnerships), Deakin University, Australia.

Baskaran stated that it would also serve as a catalyst for developing partnerships with other South Asian and ASEAN regional centres to create innovative and sustainable solutions to the Global challenges.

The Centre’s primary mission will be to foster deep collaborations between Australia & India in the sector of energy through transformative research, technology innovation and deployment.

AICE will strive to be a major bilateral platform for SDG 7 and related SDGs for academics and industries, as well as government agencies, to engage in science and technology policy and governance.

Sarah Kirlew is the Australian Consul-General for South India. She stated that Australia and India are strategic partners with deep cooperation in areas of strategic importance including education, critical minerals, and clean technology. Both countries are home of world-class researchers and innovators.

Officials at IIT Madras say that the AICE’s immediate focus will be on the development of joint educational programmes, online MTech programs, and capacity building through certification programmes, diploma, extension centres, and training.

A senior official stated that the AICE’s founding members will develop joint proposals for bilateral funding support.