Soon academic institutes, labs and industries across the country can jointly apply for funds to work on innovations in areas of energy, healthcare and aviation.

This will be facilitated by a joint collaboration between the Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), a statutory body of the Department of Science & Technology (DST), Government of India and GE’s John F Welch Technology Centre (JFWTC), Bengaluru, which was launched on July 23, 2021, to promote synergy between academic institutes, labs and industries for research and development in technology across energy, healthcare and aviation sectors.

“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,” said Secretary DST Prof Ashutosh Sharma.

“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. The fund is a step in the right direction to give a much-needed impetus to building an innovation mindset in the country,” he added.

Prof Sandeep Verma, Secretary, SERB, pointed out that partnership can actively contribute towards futuristic problems in science and technology. “It can play a dominant role in putting India in the major technology roadmap. We believe it will open many doors for the eminent scientists in the country and industry to actively contribute towards the S&T sector,” he stressed.

Alok Nanda, Chief Technology Officer, GE South Asia & CEO, GE India Technology Centre, said that this programme was about finding solutions for sustainable world. “Our partnership with SERB is a part of our consistent and long-term commitment to strengthen the research and innovation capabilities in India. 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,” he said.

The government will soon invite research proposals from academia and research labs along defined problem statements in remote monitoring technologies, artificial intelligence and medical devices for healthcare, advanced materials and coatings, decarbonization, and renewable energy for gas power and in optimization – simulations and advanced repair solution.   

Undertaken as part of the Fund for Industrial Research Engagement (SERB-FIRE), the programme aims at supporting research and development to solve critical national and global problems across these key industries. The collaboration will help drive impetus to create a transformative research mindset to foster a novel and impactful research ecosystem in the country.

The GE and SERB partnership specifically aims to promote innovation and solve specific challenges in areas that are directly relevant to the industry, industry-academia collaborations with focus on industry-relevant skill development leading to employability and research and joint product development.

The “Fund for Industrial Research Engagement (FIRE)” under Industry Relevant R&D (IRRD) scheme, with support from industry members, intends to address the challenges in the research and innovation space in India by creating an ecosystem that would accelerate the growth in research work with national impact, and drive the R&D landscape efficiently and effectively. It will create a pool of funding, resources and network that would enable strong research projects with a breakthrough impact in India on some of the major issues relevant to Industry.

The Industry Relevant R&D (IRRD) scheme of SERB aims to utilize the expertise available in academic institutions and national laboratories to solve industry-specific problems for the larger benefit of society.