With an aim to connect India and the US’s Universities to overcome global challenges,these two allies have taken an initiative to institute awards in the name of US President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
“In a continuation of the educational partnership between India and the United States, the State Department is pleased to announce the eight institutional partnership projects for the second round of Obama-Singh 21st Century Knowledge Initiative awards. This initiative strengthens collaboration and builds partnerships between American and Indian institutions of higher education in priority fields”,said a press communiqué issued by the US Department of State Office’s spokesperson today.
Each project promises to fetch an award of approximately $250,000 that can be utilized over a three year period, with the objectives of cultivating educational reform, fostering economic growth, generating shared knowledge to address global challenges, and developing junior faculty at Indian and American institutions of higher learning.
Prime Minister Singh and President Obama announced the Obama-Singh Initiative in November 2009 as an affirmation of their commitment to building an enhanced India-U.S. partnership in education. Each government pledged $5 million for this endeavor, for a total of $10 million.
U.S.-led Partnerships:
Harvard School of Public Health
Project Title: Harvard-India Nutrition Initiative
Partner Institution: St. Johns Research Institute, Bangalore
Ohio State University
Project Title: The STEM Faculty Project: Training the Next Generation of STEM Faculty at Higher Education Institutions in India
Partner Institution: Aligarh Muslim University
University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Project Title: Inclusive Universities: Linking Diversity, Equity and Excellence for the 21st Century
Partner Institution: University of Pune
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Project Title: Partnering for Success: Advancing Sustainability Research and Education in India
Partner Institution: Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore
Indian-led Partnerships:
Annamalai University
Project Title: Tamil Nadu Energy Futures: Mapping Uncertainties and Risks
Partner Institutions: Tennessee Technological University
Assam Agricultural University
Project Title: Engineering ADP – Glucose Pyrophosphorylase (AGPase) enzymes for heat tolerance in rice
Partner Institution: Washington State University
Avinashilingam Institute for Home Science and Higher Education for Women
Project Title: A Sustainable ‘Response to Intervention’ model for successful inclusion of children with disabilities –A India-US Partnership
Partner Institution: University of Minnesota, Minneapolis
National Institute of Technology – Trichy
Project Title: Cognitive based Curriculum Development Tool for emerging areas of Computer Engineering and Management Studies for improving Teaching-Learning Process
Partner Institution: University of Nevada, Las Vegas