The Hindu : National : Research Councils UK launches its India office

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Wednesday, Oct 22, 2008
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Research Councils UK launches its India office

P. Sunderarajan

It is its third overseas office. Others are in the U.S. and China

The office will work to promote collaborative research opportunities
It will address key issues such as food, energy, water security

NEW DELHI: Science collaboration between India and Britain is all set to scale new heights, with the Research Councils UK (RCUK), the joint organisation of the seven research councils in the United Kingdom, setting up an India office here. This is only the third overseas office of the agency, after the ones in the United States (Washington) and China (Beijing).

The RCUK office will work with Indian-funding agencies to share strategies, increase dialogue on priorities and promote collaborative research opportunities.

It is expected to develop a better strategic engagement between the U.K. and India leading to high-impact research partnerships. The office will be located at the British High Commission along with its Science and Innovation Network.

In a message to mark the setting up of the office, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said: “With its rich tradition of research excellence and ambitious plans for the future, India was an immediate choice for the first group of such overseas offices [of RCUK]. I would like to thank the U.K. team for their hard work and the Indian authorities for extending such a welcoming hand to this facility.”

Global collaboration

Launching the new office, U.K.’s Chief Scientific Adviser John Beddington said the opening of the office was yet another demonstration of how the U.K. was recognising the value of global collaboration in tackling future challenges.

“Working with partners in emerging economies is vital to bring about the best possible research outcomes. In this time of economic gloom and doom, it is important that we keep sight of the big picture and work together with global partners to achieve solutions.”

Director of the new facility Alicia Greated, said it would, among other things, support researchers who wished to widen their research perspectives by spending time in another country.

“As India’s research reputation and capacity continues to grow, we feel it is vital to embed valuable relationships between the U.K. and India to ensure future success.”

Later speaking to The Hindu, Prof. Beddington said the top priority of the RCUK office would be to promote research to address key global issues such as food security, energy security, water security, and infectious diseases such as influenza.

In the food security sector, it would focus, among other things, on using the various tools of biotechnology to improve crop productivity and control plant diseases. Climate change studies would be undertaken to provide improved modelling for quicker time scales such as what kind of scenarios could be expected in 2030.

Renewable energy

In the energy sector, the focus would include tapping of renewable energy sources such as solar energy.

Next year, the U.K. would commit £5 million of funding for new research on energy to be undertaken with Indian partners and focusing on priority areas such as solar energy. “In India, you have both scientists and an abundant supply of sunshine. In the U.K., we have only scientists,” he remarked.

Asked about the various initiatives and programmes already under way for scientific collaboration between India and the U.K., he said the RCUK would work in such a way that there was a seamless integration of S&T collaborative activities between India and the U.K. The aim would be to take the India-U.K. S&T partnership to new levels.

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