India’s Minister for Human Resources Development, Kapil Sibal, has visited Imperial College London to look at university innovation and the process of translating research into new technologies and applications.
The visit formed part of a five-day tour of the UK to strengthen educational ties between the two countries. It comes at a time when India is exploring ways to develop its higher education sector, including plans for innovation universities, the first of which will centre on health, the environment and new technologies for power plants.
The visit aimed to provide the minister with an insight into Imperial’s approach to innovation, from pure research through to translation to the market place. Key strategies discussed included the creation of interdisciplinary institutes that draw together researchers with a range of expertise to jointly tackle issues such as sustainable energy, climate change, global health and security science.
Sibal also explored Imperial’s creation of the Academic Health Science Centre, which brings together Imperial with the local NHS trust to speed the translation of research into the clinic. The visit included sessions with representatives of Imperial Innovations, Imperials’ technology transfer arm.
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