Bridging The Gap

Earlier this year Nokia, a Finnish multinational, announced its collaboration with the Indian Institute of Sciences (IISc), Bengaluru for research in 6G technologies. The joint research will be conducted at the company’s newly inaugurated 6G lab in Bengaluru.

Cut to Wipro, an information technology (IT) giant, which is partnering with IISc to offer its employees a course in artificial intelligence (AI).

While academia-industry partnerships have been prevalent in the West for a while, in India it had not really gelled. But things are slowly changing, and the reasons are twofold.

First, the realisation among university dons that research has to keep in mind market needs. And second, the squeeze in funding from the central government.

Funding Autumn

In the Union Budget for 2024–25, the allocation for the University Grants Commission (UGC) has been slashed by over 60%, dropping to Rs 2,500 crore from Rs 6,409 crore in the revised budget estimate of the previous year. The budget for Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) also witnessed a slight dip from 2023–24 revised estimates of Rs 10,384.21 crore to Rs 10,324.50 crore in the budget. The allocation for Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) has been slashed for the second consecutive year.

Despite the government focus on research and development (R&D), the expenditure as a share of gross domestic product (GDP) has declined in the past few years. Although absolute spending has increased from Rs 60,197 crore in 2010–11 to Rs 1,27,381 crore in 2020–21, India currently spends just about 0.65% on R&D as a share of GDP as against the global average of about 1.8%.

The budget for the department of higher education has not seen any significant change over the years. In 2012–13, the budget was set at 0.27% of the GDP, and a decade later, in 2023–24, it dipped to 0.26%.

“Funds are hard to come by. Earlier funding was less competitive and easy to obtain. But now the government wants universities to directly approach the industry and earn their own funding,” says Balaji I. Birajdar, an electron microscopist and a faculty at the Special Centre for Nanoscience, in Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Delhi.

The government’s push to increase industrial collaborations of institutions is reflected through the development of research and innovation parks. In August 2023, it sanctioned the establishment of these parks at IISc, Bengaluru and eight IITs to augment the research ecosystem through collaborations with industries.

The National Education Policy(NEP) 2020 envisaged greater industry-academia linkages in higher education institutes. The National Research Foundation, which became operational in February this year, will fund research and liaison between researchers, government and industry.

UGC's Guidelines on Sustainable and Vibrant University-Industry Linkage System for Indian Universities, released in January, encourage universities and industries to form research and development clusters. 

Cash From Corporates

Institutions are responding to the need for funding from other sources. IIT Madras recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with French aerospace and defence firm Starburst Aerospace to set up accelerator programmes to boost the aviation, space and defence ecosystem in India with a funding support of €100 million.

“Till five years ago funds from central agencies and philanthropic organisations made up 75% of the total funds; but today it is just about 50%. The other 50% is from industry,” says Manu Santhanam, dean, industrial consultancy and sponsored research, IIT Madras.

Funds from the government in 2020–21 were about Rs 350 crore and industrial funding was approximately Rs 205 crore. Both have increased to roughly Rs 570 crore and Rs 590 crore respectively in 2023–24.

IIT Delhi has also witnessed a substantial increase in the sanctioned funds for industry-funded projects. From Rs 20.2 crore in 2017–18, it reached Rs 79 crore in 2023–24. “Data shows an improvement of almost 75% from 2017–18 to 2023–24 in the value of industry-sponsoredprojects,” says Naresh Bhatnagar, the institute’s dean, industrial research and development.

IIT Goa has also received increased industrial funding for research. The number of such projects increased from three in 2017 to 19 in 2023.

IIM Bangalore encourages its faculty to not only work with the government and international entities but also with the private sector by undertaking consultancy and sponsored-research assignments.

“The period 2018–23 saw more than 300 such requests. The faculty were awarded several national- and international-sponsored research grants,” says a source in IIM Bangalore. From 22 completed projects in 2018–19, the number has increased to 28 in 2022–23. “Of the total number of projects a year, 15–18 are industry-related,” she says.

A Symbiotic Relationship

Joining hands helps both industry and institutes. While the reputation of top-notch institutes adds to a company’s credibility, the institute gets funds, and its students gain practical experience. Deloitte India, an audit and consulting company, is collaborating with IIT Roorkee to curate research and develop courses for skill development for its recently launched Asia Pacific Centre of Excellence (CoE) for Sustainability and Climate in India.

“When you work alongside leading academic institutions, you are trying to solve something very complex which nobody has solved. So, if we work together on an ESG [environmental, social and governance] problem, it adds to our collective  credibility,” says Deepti Sagar, the company’s chief people and experience officer.

Deloitte also launched a programme called Heartland in 2023 in partnership with the National Institute of Electronics and Information Technology to engage with colleges in Tier-II and Tier-III cities.

Along with reduction in hiring effort and time on the company’s part, it benefits from getting access to skilled workforce. “The gestation period in the organisation significantly reduces. Moreover, we do not have to go to 500 colleges to hire 50; instead, we can go to one college,” Sagar says.

Through such partnerships, companies can go beyond their limited capacities and fill the gap with experts in the field of research. “Partnering with academic institutions allow industry to gain access to specialised knowledge. Collaborations also present industries the opportunity to explore new areas, thereby enhancing their competitiveness and innovation potential,” says Mahima Gupta, dean (academics and programmes) at IIM Amritsar.

Last year, Wipro launched a CoE on generative AI at IIT Delhi. Explaining the advantage that the students have with companies coming in, a Wipro spokesperson says, “Students interact directly with Wipro researchers, getting firsthand exposure to industrial research as well as opportunities to work with us through internships.”

Cracking the Funding Code

Central to the relationship with companies are the facilities like the research and innovation parks in IIT Delhi where corporate offices are integrated into the academic environment. “It will facilitate greater engagement,” says Rangan Banerjee, director, IIT Delhi, adding that TCS and Mitsui are set to join hands with the institute.

Apart from CoEs with institutes, Wipro also hosts research scholars and master's students as interns and works directly with selected faculty on projects. Through its collaboration with Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS), Pilani, it offers MTech for app development and infrastructure programmes.

Wipro has a 15-year association with Symbiosis International University. Similarly, it is working with Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT) to provide an integrated master's in technology in computer science and data science.

Pharma major Cipla collaborates with BITS Pilani for its four-year degree course. A company spokesperson says, “NEEV, our flagship programme in partnership with BITS Pilani, is curated specifically for the pharma industry with the aim to build frontline technical capability for our manufacturing operations.” Cipla has also partnered with Council of Scientific and Industrial Research–Central Drug Research Institute to develop healthcare solutions.

Not all institutions have been able to crack the code. Indian Statistical Institute (ISI), recognised as an Institute of National Importance, is one such. ISI is involved in many government-funded projects both at the state and at the central level but nothing much has taken shape in terms of industrial projects. “We have been approached by certain industries to help them, but nothing concrete has materialised yet,” says Antar Bandyopadhyay, Head, Delhi centre, ISI. “If it [collaboration] happens, then it will be very good. Those of us who have seen this in the West, we know the benefit of it.”

JNU, one of the most reputed universities in India, is struggling for funds to conduct research. “Along with basic research, there is now an increased emphasis on application-oriented research. Such research would be economically sustainable and lead to start-ups and employment,” nanoscience department’s Birajdar says.

Present Imperfect

Among the various challenges facing research institutes and industry tie-ups is a trust quotient. Industries want a clear timeline on deliverables and are wary of red tape in public institutions. “It is a chicken and egg situation. They [industries] invest only when they see some work, but the work can only be done when there is funding,” says IIT Delhi director Banerjee.

But many academics have raised red flags over the mad rush to monetise research. “Collaboration is desirable but it should not come at the cost of optimum classroom learning hours and in-depth study time for foundational literature,” says Amit Sadhukhan, assistant professor of economics, Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS), Hyderabad.

Reflective of the government's intentions of leaving the universities and institutes on their own to gather funds, these collaborations are set to increase in the foreseeable future. The establishment of a more robust framework to support these collaborations could ensure that more technical institutions can benefit from such partnerships.