Annual Seminar on Academic and Research Collaborative Indo-Norwegian Projects

Developments in India, in terms of its economic growth, societal changes, international outreach and geopolitical significance, offer Norway significant opportunities for collaborations that can be of mutual benefit for both the countries. Realising this, Norway has identified India as a prioritised partner country.

Over the years, there has been a significant growth in academic and research activities in India. This is reflected by a considerable increase in the number of articles published by Indian academicians and researchers, resulting in a drastic improvement in its international ranking. This offers Norwegian researchers increased possibilities of joint research and co-publications.

Realising the changes that are taking place, the think tanks in Norway have published a number of white papers that highlight the benefits of collaboration with India. These include:

• Report to the Storting no. 30 (2008–2009) - Climate for Research
• St. 18 (2012–2013) - Long-term perspectives – knowledge provides opportunity

Recommendations made by these think tanks are now reflected in the Norwegian government’s strategies that prioritise research cooperation with India. These include:

• Opportunities in diversity - The Norwegian Government’s strategy for cooperation between Norway and India (2009)
• Panorama – Strategy for cooperation on higher education and research with Brazil, China, India, Japan, Russia and South Africa (2016–2020).

As a result of the initiatives taken from the Norwegian government (the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Higher Education and the Royal Norwegian Embassy in New Delhi) and the Indian government (the Ministry of External Affairs and the Indian Embassy in Oslo) a number of joint research funding programs have been launched in order to enhance bilateral research cooperation between the two countries.

The Norwegian government under its program The Panorama Strategy seeks bilateral cooperation on higher education and research with key partner countries outside the EU. Under this program, Norwegian government has identified India as one of the eight key partners, with an objective to enhance collaborative research, innovation and higher education with focus towards business and industry. Two major projects under this strategy are:

1. International Partnerships for Excellent Education, Research and Innovation (INTPART)
2. UTFORSK

Apart from these, over the years, Norwegian government, through its various agencies, has also funded a number of collaborative research with institutions and research centres in India. Some of these programmes include,

1. INDIA Program (INCP)
2. Norwegian Programme for Research Cooperation with India (INDNOR)

Following the success of these programs, there is a need to further enhance cooperation between Norwegian and Indian universities and research centers on higher education, innovation, research for the development for the betterment of Norwegian and Indian society / industrial base.

All the academicians and researchers based in Norway who are interested in joint Indo-Norwegian research collaboration shall be invited to take part in the seminar.

Apart from the individuals, the following organisations may send their representatives:

1. Norwegian government organisations involved in developing policies for Norwegian government. These include:
   1. The Ministry of Higher Education (hk-dir)
   2. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs
   3. The Research Council of Norway
   4. Innovation Norway
   5. Norwegian Embassy (India)
2. All Norwegian universities and government owned research centres (example, SINTEF, NORCE, etc.)
3. Indian government organisations involved in developing policies for Indian government. These include:
   1. Council of Scientific and Industrial Research
   2. NASSCOM (Trade association of Indian IT industry)
4. Premium Indian universities and government owned research centres (example TERI, IIT Jodhpur, MNIT Jaipur, etc.)

The seminar shall help in:

1. Introducing academicians and researchers to each other.
2. Disseminating knowledge about the existing and proposed joint Indo-Norwegian ongoing projects.
3. Sharing experiences regarding running of the joint projects.
4. Identifying potential beneficiaries of the collaborative efforts.
5. Identifying gaps in the current collaborative efforts.
6. Developing a better understanding of role of collaborative projects on education, research and industrial base.

Indian delegation will include:

1. Dr. (Mrs.) N. Kalaiselvi, Secretary, Department of Scientific and Industrial Research(DSIR), and DG, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research(CSIR)
2. Prof Sunil Kumar Singh, Director, CSIR- National Institute of Oceanography (CSIR-NIO)
3. Dr. C. Anandharamakrishnan, Director, CSIR-National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (CSIR-NIIST)
4. Dr. Sridevi Annapurna Singh, Director, CSIR-Central Food Technological Research Institute (CSIR-CFTRI)
5. Dr. Rama Swami Bansal, Head, CSIR-International S&T Affairs Directorate (CSIR-ISTAD)
6. Prof. Surajit Ghosh, Dean International Relations, Indian Institute of Technology Jodhpur
7. Dr. Monika Tanwar, Assistant Professor, Indian Institute of Technology Jodhpur
8. Prof. Rakesh Jain - Dean International and Alumini Affairs, Malaviya National Institute of Technology Jaipur
9. Dr. Gunjan Soni, Associate Professor, Malaviya National Institute of Technology Jaipur

There will be opportunity to personally discuss with them opportunities for collaborations.