BITS Pilani’s K K Birla Goa Campus has entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Goa University (GU) to establish a collaborative academic and research partnership. This partnership encompasses various aspects, including joint research projects, academic publications, as well as shared workshops, seminars and conferences. Moreover, this MoU aims to open up opportunities for students from Goa University and its affiliated colleges to engage in Ph.D. programmes and project work at BITS Pilani. It also promotes the exchange of academic and scholarly knowledge between the faculties and students of both institutions of higher learning, according to an official release.
Under the terms of this agreement, faculty members from BITS Pilani and Goa University will work together to supervise students and conduct joint research in fields of common interest. GU, along with its affiliated colleges, will send students pursuing degrees such as B.Tech, M.Tech, B.E., M.E., B.Sc., M.Sc., MA and Ph.D. to the BITS Pilani campus. This MoU simplifies the process for GU students to explore the possibility of undertaking research projects at BITS Pilani and being considered for admission to Ph.D. programmes at the same institution, the release mentioned.
“We understand and value the relevance of academic collaborations and our partnership with Goa University is an important step towards providing students with the right exposure to research subjects and diverse faculty support. We believe that this collaboration will set a new benchmark for higher education research capabilities for students in India, paving the way for better research and citation,” Suman Kundu, director, BITS Pilani, Goa Campus, said.
While engaged in their research projects, students will have the opportunity to take courses that fulfill their credit requirements at Goa University. A noteworthy proposal is the exploration of a Sandwich Model for Doctoral programmes between the two institutions, allowing students registered at both GU and BITS Pilani to spend a minimum of six to twelve months conducting their research work at the partner institution, as per the release.
“The strategic partnership is aimed at enhancing educational opportunities in parallel with the NEP based curriculum, which the University has already implemented across the state of Goa at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Moreover, the research centers that the University is establishing will be augmented with the know-how of resource persons in the technology domain from BITS Pilani,” Harilal B Menon, vice chancellor, Goa University, said.