Four top Indian academics from prestigious institutions visited Wales this week to meet counterparts in Welsh universities and to discuss collaboration on low carbon technologies.
The visit, arranged jointly by the Welsh Assembly Government and the British Council, followed up a visit to India earlier in the year by representatives from the Low Carbon Research Institute (LCRI).
The academic group comprised of:
Dr Biswajit Ghosh, a Professor of Energy Science and Technology at Jadavpur University who holds the university’s highest degree of DSc (Engg.) for his original scientific and outstanding contribution in the field of electrical contacting technology;
Ashok Lall, an architect and Cambridge University graduate, whose firm is committed to an architectural practice based on the principles of environmental sustainability and social responsibility and has won a number of awards for its work in this area;
Professor P J Paul, a professor at the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, in the Department of Aerospace who has made significant contributions in the area of engineering, renewable energy, and in particular biomass gasification and combustion;
Dr Debabrata Das, a Professor at the Department of Biotechnology, Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, he has also received the International Association of Hydrogen Energy (IAHE) Akira Matsui Award 2008 for important contribution to hydrogen research.
During the week the visitors travelled across Wales, visiting a range of institutions to cement relationships and gain an insight in to some of the world class research that Wales offers in this field. They had an opportunity to visit facilities at the University of Glamorgan, OpTIC Technium, the Welsh School of Architecture, Cardiff University, Cardiff School of engineering and Swansea University’s school of Engineering. The aim will now be to develop the collaboration more strongly and to explore joint projects in areas of expertise.