Prof Khakhar

Twenty engineering students are going to the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Bombay this year. They will be enrolled in postgraduate and doctoral programmes. A scholarship programme from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) will support their studies while in IIT.

This is for the second year in a row that DAAD has offered the scholarships for Master of Technology (MTech) programme in energy systems engineering, biomedical engineering, environmental science and engineering, water resource engineering, and technology and development, and for PhD study in renewable energy, climate change, health, biodiversity, and good governance, at IIT Bombay.

To promote the DAAD scholarship programme, Prof Devang V Khakhar, director of IIT Bombay, visited different Bangladeshi universities in a four-day tour.

Talking to The Daily Star on Monday, the director stressed on building institutional linkages between India and Bangladesh as the countries face similar kinds of problems.

"When we make connections with countries which are somewhat similar, then comes a lot of motivation to work on similar programmes and research. India and Bangladesh should work together because we have similar kinds of problems. And hence working together would give an advantage," he said.

He said most of issues facing the nations like Bangladesh and India are of a multidisciplinary nature. And therefore, the countries should educate students in broad way and encourage people from different disciplines to work together.

During his stay, Prof Devang visited Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Military Institute of Science and Technology, Chittagong University and Chittagong University of Engineering and Technology.

He said he was impressed to see the facilities at some of the universities like Buet and MIST.

"And that is one of reasons why we are keen to building up academic linkages and together we can do meaningful work. There is a great potential for doing joint researches. And finally when we do research we would like to make a contribution at the international level," he said.

Prof Devang feels that a nation has to be innovation to take things forward.

"We've seen in our lifetime some fantastic innovations like cell phones. A constant innovation is going all around the world and countries like ours also have to participate in that innovation. To be able to do that we have to develop our capabilities in a broad way."

The head of the IIT Bombay suggested that Bangladesh should keep on improving the quality of education.

"Quality is really the key thing because the impact it can have is very significant," he said.

Talking about the future plan on Bangladesh, Prof Devang said they are committed to building strong links with the universities of Bangladesh.

"And we are slowly finding our partners," he said. "We would like to see at the level of students and faculty a lot of interaction and exchange. I think that will benefit both the institutions," he said.

IIT Bombay is recognised worldwide as a leader in the field of engineering education and research. It gives 30 fellowships a year to international students for PhD studies. Besides, it has a joint PhD programme with Monash University.