Purdue leadership, led by President Mung Chiang, recently completed a multi-day trip to India, meeting with academic and research partners, U.S. and Indian government officials, and industry stakeholders to strengthen the momentum of a 10-year strategic partnership . (photo provided)

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – President Mung Chiang led a high-level delegation on a three-day visit to India last week to expand Purdue University’s global leadership in innovation and business. This was an important step in cementing the university’s role as a key partner in India’s fast-growing semiconductor, financial and emerging technology sectors. This visit marks a new chapter in Purdue’s 125-year relationship with India, dating back to its first Indian students.

Purdue’s leadership team held 12 high-level meetings in three cities with Indian government officials, top academic institutions and industry leaders. Discussions focused on collaboration in education, expanding joint R&D initiatives and exploring new opportunities in critical technologies such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing, finance and aerospace.

The delegation’s visit included important meetings in Delhi, Chennai and Mumbai. A centerpiece of the trip was Purdue’s role in the first SEMICON India conference, opened by India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Purdue’s milestone partnership with the India Semiconductor Mission was highlighted during the conference’s opening ceremony. In May 2023, Purdue announced a transformative agreement with the Government of India to become the leading academic partner in semiconductors and promote collaborative research and development, education and talent development in this important area.

Chiang and the delegation also held strategic discussions with India’s Electronics and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, who oversees the country’s semiconductor initiatives. The two leaders committed to strengthening Purdue’s commitment to promoting workforce development and R&D collaborations to strengthen India’s position as a trusted partner in the global semiconductor supply chain.

Meeting with Dharmendra Pradhan, India’s education minister, and senior leaders of Indian higher education at the minister’s residence, the Purdue delegation discussed deepening educational partnerships under India’s new Education Policy 2020. Pradhan expressed his support for improving collaboration on emerging technologies through the establishment of a network expressing global center of excellence; Development of joint, dual and partnership study programs; and creating more long-term internship opportunities for Indian students at Purdue.

The visit also focused on economics and finance. The Purdue delegation met with India’s Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs, Nirmala Sitharaman, to discuss joint degree programs, financial and supply chain innovations, and research collaborations under India’s newly formed Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF). In addition, the delegation met with Ram Mohan Naidu, India’s new Cabinet Secretary for Civil Aviation and a Purdue alumnus, to discuss aerospace collaborations and strengthen Purdue’s leadership in this important area. Purdue alumnus and Indian lawmaker Sribharat Mathukumilli also attended the meeting.

To further deepen strategic ties, the Purdue delegation met with Indian Foreign Minister Vikram Misri to discuss implementation of the India-U.S. Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies, a bilateral framework launched in January 2023 to enhance cooperation in the Semiconductor, AI, quantum technology and space and biotechnology sectors. Purdue, as the leading U.S. institution in these areas, will play a critical role in shaping the future of global challenge initiatives.

Eric Garcetti, US Ambassador to India, received the Purdue delegation for a meeting at his residence in Delhi. The Ambassador and his team acknowledged Purdue’s strong partnership with India and expressed strong support for expanding the partnership through the launch of the first India-US Semiconductor Global Challenge Institute under the joint leadership of Purdue and leading Indian academic institutions. Chiang also extended a special invitation to Garcetti to visit Purdue in the near future.

Purdue officials met with Abhay Karandikar, India’s Secretary of Science and Technology and Interim CEO of ANRF, to discuss ways to further strengthen the close collaboration between Purdue and India’s Ministry of Science and Technology. Both sides expressed support for maintaining and expanding initiatives such as the Overseas Visiting Doctoral Fellowship program. This unique program, in which 25 Indian graduate students annually conduct research alongside faculty in a broad range of disciplines at Purdue University, has already produced numerous groundbreaking joint publications and research partnerships.

The delegation also met with several industry leaders including Purdue alumnus Venu Srinivasan, Chairman Emeritus of TVS Motor Co. and the top leadership of Tata Consultancy Services led by CEO K. Krithivasan.

At a Boilermaker reception in Mumbai, the delegation presented the plan to establish an office in India. As Purdue enters the next phase of global expansion, India remains a cornerstone of the university’s global strategy and an officially designated strategic priority country for Purdue. With deep connections between academia, government and industry, and deep engagement across all three pillars of land-grant research, learning and engagement, the Purdue-India partnership will continue to thrive and drive innovations that will shape the future of technology and education for years to come.

“Purdue University’s 125-year partnership with India, spanning three centuries, reflects shared values ​​of innovation, excellence and leadership,” Chiang said. “Our recent visit laid the foundation for even deeper and broader collaboration in the coming years and we look forward to working with universities, companies, government agencies and alumni in India.”

Chiang was accompanied by Dimitrios Peroulis, senior vice president of partnerships and online; Alyssa Wilcox, senior vice president and chair of the University Campaign Planning Committee; Vijay Raghunathan, vice president of global partnerships and programs and director of semiconductor education; and Jim Bullard, Dr. Samuel R. Allen, dean of the Mitch Daniels School of Business. Executives from Purdue’s Krach Institute of Tech Diplomacy were also in India, further expanding collaboration between Purdue and India.

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Purdue University is a public research institution that demonstrates excellence at scale. Purdue is a top 10 public university and has two colleges in the top 4 in the United States. Purdue discovers and disseminates knowledge at a quality and scale that is unparalleled. More than 105,000 students study at Purdue across modalities and locations, including nearly 50,000 in person at the West Lafayette campus. For reasons of affordability and accessibility, Purdue’s main campus has frozen tuition for 13 consecutive years. Learn how Purdue is persistently pursuing its next big leap – including its first comprehensive urban campus in Indianapolis, the Mitch Daniels School of Business, Purdue Computes and the One Health Initiative – at https://www.purdue.edu/ – never stops. President/Strategic Initiatives.