Renewed agreement opens paths to better science for Australia and India

Scientists in Australia and India can look forward to greater levels of cooperation and collaboration after the Australian Academy of Science (AAS) and Indian National Science Academy (INSA) today renewed their commitment to work more closely together.

AAS President Professor Suzanne Cory and INSA President Professor Krishan Lal signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) during a short ceremony at the AAS’s Shine Dome in Canberra.

“Now, more than ever, science and innovation are vital to our countries’ economic, environmental and health security,” Professor Cory said.

“In this Asian Century, collaboration with near neighbours is important if we are to ensure we remain at the forefront of knowledge creation and advancements in research and innovation.

“India is a key partner for Australia’s scientific community and vice versa. We look forward to working together for many years to come.”

The AAS and INSA first signed an agreement in 1986, forging new relationships and enabling new collaborations and improved information exchange between scientists in the two nations.

“This new Memorandum of Understanding better reflects the nature of the joint activities which we already undertake and provides a platform for more bilateral collaboration in research,” Professor Cory said.

“We’ve both agreed to facilitate relationships and cooperation between specialists in a range of scientific disciplines.”

The MoU allows for:

• Joint workshops - to facilitate workshops to identify where there are opportunities to improve the level of cooperation in areas of mutual interest and priority;
• Visiting Fellowships - to support visits of early and mid-career researchers, as well as more senior scientists, to develop collaborative relationships between Australian and Indian researchers and to conduct joint research projects.

The Australia-India Fellowships are supported by the Australia-India Strategic Research Fund, jointly managed by the governments of Australia and India, in collaboration with the two academies.