IBM and IIT join hands to develop future technology

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Bombay has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with IBM Corp. for collaborative research, officials said Friday.

Under the deal IBM and IIT will jointly work to develop technology capabilities of common interest, like autonomic computing, grid computing, deep computing, databases, web services, network management, and security amongst others, through collaborative research, according to Rangan Banerjee, associate dean at the institute.

With the help of IBM's Centre for Advanced Studies (CAS) program, the purpose of this MoU is to equip technical talent at the grassroots levels with greater understanding of emerging technologies.

"Students interested in research could spend six months to a year at an IBM research facility. This will help academics get a flavor of life in the industry," Banerjee suggested.
"Students need to continuously develop their skills to work on new and innovative technologies," he added.

Harish Grama, Vice President of IBM India Software Labs, stated that the IBM CAS program looked to the future. It plays a meaningful role in bringing together academia, government, and industry research organizations. About the agreement, Grama said their MoU with IIT Mumbai is a step in this direction. By the way of this MoU, IBM will enable students to be a part of the technology ready workforce, he added.

The IIT, considered among the world's best engineering and computer science colleges, anticipates that collaborative projects with industry will make research in high-end technology more attractive to students.

"We are targeting long-term research partnerships and initiatives to make research an attractive career option," Banerjee said.

Most of young technology and science graduates leave India for the United States, Britain and Canada to pursue research degrees overseas due to the inadequacy of industry-linked projects in the country. "From our point of view if we can augment our research capability and establish links with various industries it will make doing research in India attractive," Banerjee said, adding that "The companies also will have access to ongoing research by students and faculty."

At the same time, IBM will assume the sponsorship of Ph.D, M.Tech, and MS (Res) students for their research work on the selected themes of mutual collaborative interest; provide technology support that would enable students in their research projects; and collaborate on research programs with selected faculty.

The IIT has recently penetrated into research partnerships with U.S. electronics maker Motorola Inc. and chip maker Intel Corp.