Carleton sets up India Centre of Excellence

Canada-based Carleton University has set up a Canada-India Centre of Excellence in Science, Technology, Trade and Policy at Carleton.

The centre will look at joint research projects, exchange of faculty and students and internship opportunities for engineering students in Canada and India. The centre is also looking at creating international job opportunities for students.

“It’s the only centre in the world for science & technology and policy. In the university, we are educating the future generation, who will need science and technology to solve present and future problems. This initiative will look at joint research projects, exchanges, conferences of interest to India and Canada,” said Roseann O’Reilly Runte, president and vice-chancellor, Carleton University (CU).

The centre will create a network of selected universities for research. Carleton, for instance, has established relations with Delhi University, Kolkata University and Mumbai University among others.

“We are also working with labs of many companies and we are announcing an agreement with the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research in the area of computer science. This will run for a period of five years,” said Runte.

Carleton has also signed an agreement with the Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS) Pilani. The agreement allows faculty and student exchange programmes, internships and joint research projects, especially in international health environment and engineering.

The centre will share campuses with the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs, the School of Public Policy and Administration and the Sprott School of Business. The centre will also provide opportunities for many co-operative ventures.

Research will be carried out in nano-science, computer science, aero engineering, robotics and networks. “India and Canada have complimentary situations. In both countries we have extraordinary researchers. Together they can be a powerhouse. Both countries have committed to environment and sustainability issues and researchers are looking at new innovative forms of energy. The interest in health care is very strong in both countries,” Runte signed off.