US project grants for two Bangalore institutes

Indian Institute of Management (IIM) and St. John's Research Institute in Bangalore were recently selected for the $250,000 (each) project grant under the Obama-Singh 21st century knowledge initiative awards this year, a statement said Saturday.

"The twin grants are to be utilised in three years to cultivate educational reform, foster economic growth, generate shared knowledge to address global challenges and develop faculty at Indian and American institutions of higher learning," the US consulate at Chennai said in a statement.

The premier state-run B-school (IIM-B) will partner with North Carolina and St. John's with Harvard School of Public Health to undertake the respective projects.

The awards, named after US President Barack Obama and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, were instituted in November 2009 to strengthen collaboration in priority fields and build partnerships between institutions of higher learning in both the countries.

"The initiative, for which each government has pledged $5 million, is an affirmation of their (Obama and Singh) commitment to building an enhanced Indo-US partnership in education," the statement noted.

The IIM will work on 'Partnering for Success: Advancing Sustainability Research and Education in India' while St. John's will research on 'Harvard-India Nutrition Initiative'.

The two institutes were selected during the visit of US Secretary of State John Kerry to India June 23 for the strategic dialogue between the two countries in New Delhi.