Visiting Researcher Grant - to facilitate collaborative research between WMG, University of Warwick and the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur

Summary: The University of Warwick and the Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur (IIT-KGP) have signed an agreement to work together to meet challenges of importance to the UK and India - in particular the technologies for low-carbon economies, for advanced healthcare, for efficient non-polluting transport systems, and for secure ICT systems. These technology challenges will be met through a multi-disciplinary partnership, working across institutions, across sciences, and across academia and business to create and apply innovative solutions that we need. Building on the existing links between WMG (Warwick Manufacturing Group) at Warwick and IIT-KGP, the agreement sets out an exciting agenda of future R&D collaboration and the creation of 'cells' for IIT-KGP at WMG and for WMG at Kharagpur as a focus for exploitation. WMG and IIT-KGP will focus their partnership initially on three themes of economic, environmental and quality-of-life importance to India and the UK: low-carbon vehicles, medical technology and ICT/e-security. This proposal seeks support for travel costs for the IIT-KGP research theme leads for the three themes to visit WMG. Research funding is covered by existing grants and, in particular, industrial funding for collaborative programmes. The seedcorn funding sought in the Visiting Researcher Grant proposal will support the travel costs of academic staff and lead researchers at IIT-KGP to travel to WMG to develop, progress and help exploit collaborative research in the three themes. Over the three year period 7 visits to WMG will be supported, the first of one month duration, the subsequent ones of a week's duration. Research will be undertaken by existing and new research students and researchers. The Initiative will be self sustaining after EPSRC funding completes with full links having been established between the research teams and funds to continue collaboration being sought through industry and government sponsored research projects.

Impact Summary: The three themes of low-carbon vehicle, medical technology and ICT/e-security are closely integrated in the IIT-KGP: WMG vision. These fields are of current strategic importance to both countries. We expect many radical and innovative research and commercialisation opportunities to emerge at the interface areas between themes, as well as in the main theme areas. Each institution has many existing collaborators that will benefit from combined IIT-KGP/WMG knowledge and the targeted approaches to disseminate this and to enable exploitation. When individuals from IIT-KGP visit Warwick, and vice-versa, direct introductions will be made to existing collaborator companies. Direct benefits will be gained by companies collaborating in the collaborative R&D projects included in this partnership. Strong relationships are in place with UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) who will help us to disseminate knowledge more broadly to industry in each country. Show case events will raise commercial awareness of the technical capabilities of the two institutions in both countries, e.g. WMG exhibited its R&D as part of the UKTI stand at the India Auto Expo in Delhi (Jan 2010). The Visiting Researcher Grant will enable the exchange of existing knowledge and the generation of new knowledge through the new collaborative R&D projects. With the dissemination network that we will put in place for this knowledge we expect a high impact on companies and other organisations in each country.