These awards support collaboration between UK and Indian research teams in areas of interest and benefit to both countries, and are part of the biggest-ever education initiative between the two countries.
Professor Daniel Robert from the Bio-nanoscience Group at the University of Bristol, and his collaborator Dr Rohini Balakrishnan at the Centre for Ecological Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, have received one of these prestigious awards worth £150,000 to further their research into the ecology and mechanics of acoustic communication in tree crickets.
Professor Walther Schwarzacher in the Department of Physics at Bristol and his collaborators Professor Mathias Brust at the University of Liverpool, Professor S. Sampath of the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore and Dr B. L. V. Prasad of the National Chemical Laboratory, Pune have been awarded over £110,000 to produce magnetic nano-particles with a thin shell of gold, to which bio-molecules are attached. Applications include diagnostics, cancer therapy and magnetic imaging.
Gordon Brown said:
“Each of the winners – and the many other excellent candidates – are evidence of the strength of the education links, research partnerships and learning collaborations between our two countries.
“And these are themselves a sign of strength of the much broader economic, political and cultural relationship between our two countries that I have had the privilege to witness for myself on my visit last week.”
Professor Robert said: “We are really thrilled to get the award and to have this opportunity to further our research and collaboration with this centre of excellence in India.”
A total of over £5 million was awarded to teams from over 70 institutions in the UK and India.
The UK-India Education and Research Initiative (UKIERI) was launched by Tony Blair in April 2006 and is designed to increase education and research cooperation between the UK and India.
There was an overwhelming response to the Call for Bids for these awards, with over two hundred and fifty applications received for the Standard Awards, which are worth up to £150,000 each. Applications were evaluated by a joint India-UK Evaluation Panel, and over 800 reviewers in both countries were approached to comment on the bids.
A reception to celebrate the announcement of the awards and congratulate the winners was held in London today (23rd January), with Bill Rammell, MP, Minister of State for Lifelong Learning, Further and Higher Education.