Yale, Tata group form research alliance

Ivy League Yale University and India's Tata Group have launched a far-ranging research collaboration that builds on their shared strengths in discovery, technology, and innovation.

The alliance will be led at New Haven (Connecticut)-based Yale by Nicholas Christakis, co-director of the Yale Institute for Network Science (YINS) and the Sol Goldman Family Professor of Social and Natural Science.

The Tata Group has committed to fund the alliance over five years. The project will foster an intellectual exchange between the university and three Tata companies: Tata Sons, Tata Consultancy Services, and Tata Chemicals, according to a media release.

The initial aim of the alliance is to expand research and its application in fields ranging from network science to data science to healthcare.

During each year of the agreement, Yale will also host visiting Tata scholars, who will actively participate in the research projects.

"With this agreement, Tata has again demonstrated its steadfast commitment to making a difference in the world," said Yale President Peter Salovey.

"By harnessing the intellectual capabilities of each institution, the alliance promises to yield novel solutions to some of today's most pressing challenges."

"Innovation is a critical part of the Tata Group strategy," said Gopichand Katragadda, Group chief technology officer at Tata Sons.

"At Yale, we look forward to the outcomes from the collaboration in network sciences, consumer behaviour analytics, and other research opportunities."

"The Tata Group will enable specific applications for needs including employee change management, customer acquisition, strategies, and digital health," he said.

The Yale-Tata Alliance will leverage the expertise of Yale faculty and their Tata colleagues to investigate issues of global relevance.

To leverage the full range of innovative ideas at Yale, a six-member joint steering committee will support key initiatives and solicit proposals from faculty across the university, awarding research funds to promising investigations.

Katragadda and Christakis will co-chair the steering committee.

Working at the intersection of the social and natural sciences, Christakis explores how social and biological factors conspire to shape human life, the release said.

Most recently, his lab has been investigating the fundamental properties of human social networks through the use of large-scale online and offline experiments, with a parallel focus on the genetic and biological origins and implications of human social interactions.

(Arun Kumar can be contacted at arun.kumar@ians.in)

--IANS

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