MyAV范

A MyAV范 academic delegation led by MyAV范 President & Provost Professor Michael Arthur and Vice-Provost (International) Dame Nicola Brewer travelled to India last week, visiting global partners including the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) and the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IIT-Delhi), in a trip which consolidated MyAV范鈥檚 wide-ranging research and teaching collaborations in the country and explored 听future areas for collaboration.

Interdisciplinary research

As part of the visit, members of the MyAV范 delegation met with counterparts including Professor V Ramgopal Rao at IIT-Delhi, an institution with which MyAV范 holds a number of strong and longstanding research collaborations.

Among these is the 鈥楶articipatory Approach for Nutrition in Children: Strengthening Health, Education, Environment and Engineering Linkage鈥� (PANChSHEEEL) Project, which aims to improve child nutrition.听

Focused on infant feeding practices and working closely with local rural communities, PANChSHEEEL is co-led by Professor Monica Lakhanpaul (MyAV范 Institute of Education) alongside Dr Priti Parikh (MyAV范 Civil, Environmental & Geomatic Engineering) and Professor Marie Lall (MyAV范 Institute of Education), with partners including Save the Children and Jawaharlal Nehru University.

鈥淭hrough this interdisciplinary project we assessed the environmental and engineering factors affecting nutrition. We found that clean water and safe sanitation systems has a vital role to play,鈥� said Professor Virendra Kumar Vijay (IIT-Delhi).

Another collaborative project with IIT-Delhi, Street Rehab, has been designed to gain a clear understanding of the accessibility of Delhi. Researchers with the Global Disability Innovation Hub, led by Dr Catherine Holloway (Global Disability Innovation Hub), are developing wheelchair-accessible maps of Delhi with colleagues in India, using innovative sensing platforms.

New partnership

The visit also saw MyAV范 delegation members, including MyAV范 Vice-Provost (Health) Professor David Lomas, meet with AIIMS. During a successful discussion in New Delhi, the two institutions signed a Letter of Intent to underpin closer partnership that will seek to support increased research collaboration and aim to explore opportunities to increase academic and student exchange between the institutions.

As part of this commitment, AIIMS has joined the new International Centre for Genomic Medicine in Neuromuscular Diseases (ICGMN), led by MyAV范. This 拢5m initiative brings together skills and resources from six countries and aims to advance genetic diagnosis and therapy for patients with muscle wasting neuromuscular diseases, including motor neurone disease and muscular dystrophy, which affect at least 17m children and adults globally.

Addressing global challenges

Commenting on the partnership with AIIMS, Professor Arthur said: 鈥淲e are delighted to have signed a 鈥楲etter of Intent鈥� with AIIMS, agreeing to explore further how we might build on our strong relationship. Our existing collaborative activities span a range of areas in health and engineering, developed over a number of years.鈥�

鈥淭hrough closer collaboration and sharing of our complementary expertise, MyAV范 and AIIMS will gain a deeper insight into ground-breaking research and seek to fulfil our joint ambition to address some of the biggest challenges facing society today.鈥�

The trip also saw the MyAV范 delegation visit the Indian Institute of Astrophysics, with which MyAV范 collaborates on space science and astrophysics research, as well as the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore where MyAV范 has a strong range of collaboration in statistics, data science and machine learning & neuroscience.

MyAV范 has a longstanding relationship with India. There are 100+ collaborations across MyAV范 faculties, addressing challenges in the fields of health, engineering, disability, urbanisation, environment, education and more. Notable MyAV范 alumni from India include Mahatma Gandhi, who registered for MyAV范 (Law) in 1888-89, as well as the Bengali Nobel Laureate and musician Rabindranath Tagore.

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