Imperial College London to open international hub in Bengaluru

The Bengaluru hub will act as a liaison office and will also be employed as a platform for co-created research collaborations between Imperial and India's foremost academic and research institutions.

The Imperial College London will establish an international research hub  'Imperial Global India' in Bengaluru. To be opened in May 2025, the project seeks to enhance scientific, educational, and innovation collaboration between India and the United Kingdom.

As per a release by the Imperial College, the Bengaluru hub will be a liaison office and will be utilized as a platform for co-created research collaborations between Imperial and India's top academic and research organizations.

It will also act as a bridge for collaboration between government, industry, and innovation ecosystems. The initiative draws on long-standing connections between Imperial and Indian institutions and aims to create solutions to mutual global challenges.

Imperial's expanding presence in India is mirrored by its strategic alliance with the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, which will enable collaborative projects across several scientific domains. Research collaborations at the college already extend across institutions like AIIMS, IITs at Bombay, Delhi, and Kharagpur, and the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research. Its researchers are collaborating with Indian colleagues on problems ranging from antimicrobial resistance, climate change, to clean energy technologies.

The action also supports the UK-India Technology Security Initiative, and is likely to facilitate economic growth, sustainable development, and enhanced quality of life on both sides.

The new hub will be led by Professor Sanjeev Gupta and Dr Elena Dieckmann. Professor Gupta, an Earth Scientist, has collaborated extensively with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur on research work including river systems and groundwater depletion.

Dr Dieckmann, who has specialisation in biomaterials and the circular economy, is working with Indian researchers to convert waste solar panels into architectural material. Both teachers will also take time in India to deepen interactions and collaboration.

Interestingly, the launch of Imperial Global India comes at a time when the roll-out of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 is on-going, envisioning permitting high-ranked foreign universities to open campuses and centres in India.