US Secretary of State John F. Kerry signed eight Memoranda of Understanding (MoU), with Indian HRD Minister M. M. Pallam Raju to strengthen collaboration and building partnership between American and Indian institutions of higher education, including Aligarh Muslim University (AMU), based in north India. Each of these projects will receive an award of approximately $ 2,50,000. To meet the urgent and growing need for mushrooming world class Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) faculty at higher education institutions in India, the Ohio State University (OSU) in partnership with the AMU proposed to launch a pilot project. According to Dr. Rahat Abrar, Public Relations Officer of AMU, this program will be implemented by both the institutions to build a STEM-Education and Research (ER) Centre at AMU that would be aimed at providing opportunity for education and research in areas of mutual expertise and benefit. Prof. Anil Pradhan, Department of Astronomy at Ohio State, and a Co-director at AMU, will lead the project with the goal of strengthening the teaching and research at both institutions and meeting the growing need of developing world class STEM faculty in India.
Dr. Abrar said the STEM-ER project aims at initiating interdisciplinary collaborative projects of mutual benefit in advanced research and innovation in key areas like spectroscopy, nanotechnology, renewable energy, IT, environmental sciences, cancer research and mathematical research. It would also involve private industry and Ohio State University and AMU alumni in support of the STEM-ER program.
He said the project will establish a joint OSU-AMU Center of Excellence in STEM Education and Research at AMU; develop a two-year STEM-Education and Research program for graduate students to train in teaching STEM subjects to undergraduate students as well as to conduct state-of-the-art research; and award dual degrees to selected students in STEM education at Ohio State and graduate research at AMU.
India’s AMU signs MoU with Ohio University
