International Relations

National Institute of Technology Warangal

Scheme for Promotion of Academic and Research Collaboration (SPARC)

Scheme for Promotion of Academic and Research Collaboration (SPARC) aims at improving the research ecosystem of India’s higher educational institutions by facilitating academic and research collaborations between Indian institutions and the best institutions in the world from 28 selected nations to jointly solve problems of national and international relevance in the first phase.

Elements of a SPARC collaboration

A SPARC collaboration consists of a bilateral team working on a research project with the following features:

Topic of the research proposal falls in one of the Thrust Areas of SPARC and addresses a challenging issue of theoretical, experimental and/or translational value.

Team must comprised of:

  • At least 2 international faculty members
  • 2 Indian faculty Members
  • 2+2 researchers pursuing PhD or post-doc from each side
  • Faculty members may be from one or two eligible institutions on either side.
  • Each side will have a Lead Institution (LI) and a principal and co-principal investigators

Web link: https://sparc.iitkgp.ac.in

Budget and Funding Details
  • For a visit of foreign faculty from 1 to 4-month, payment will be made up to US$15,000/- for the first month and US$10,000/- thereafter including honorarium, travel, stay, etc.
  • For a visit of foreign faculty of 15 days and less than a month, payment will be made up to US$12,000/- including honorarium, travel, stay, etc.
  • For the visit of a foreign postdoctoral/doctoral scholar, the host Institute will provide suitable free accommodation and an out of pocket allowance of Rs 12,000 per month subject to an upper limit of Rs 2 lakhs over the duration of the project. The student has to stay for a minimum period of 3 months and register as a visiting foreign student. Tuition fees will be waived by the Indian Institution.
  • For the visit of an Indian student to the Foreign Institution, payment will be made up to US$2000 for travel and $1000 per month for out-of-pocket allowances.
  • Up to Rs 3 lakhs will be approved for Workshop subject to a maximum of two workshops.
  • A overheads and contingency expense of up to 20% of the sum cost of other items mentioned above or Rs 15 lakhs (whichever is minimum) for accessories, consumables, chemicals, video recording, field work, documentation, local travel in India, contingencies, institutional costs, miscellaneous, etc.
Expected Outcomes
  • Teaching of a specific course and publication of joint research monograph (essential)
  • Workshop and conference
  • Provide the best international expertise in solving major national problems.
  • Help Indian academicians and researchers unravel deep and open research problems with the help of the best collaborators.
  • Enable long-term stay for international faculty to participate in academic interactions, research collaborations, course development in niche area.
  • Enable a large number of Indian students to be trained in high end facilities available in the best laboratories in the world.
  • Produce a large volume of educational and research content in the form of jointly authored/developed publications, text books, research monographs, patents, demonstrable technologies and products.
  • Develop strong bilateral relationships in academics and research with top countries in the world.
  • Improve international rankings of Indian institutions and create major global impact through success stories.

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