India CSR News Network
KOLKATA: Infosys Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Infosys, has signed a MoU with IIT Kharagpur to fund two of its socially relevant projects. First of the project is the much celebrated research about the antiquity of Indus Valley and the other being funding of travel (preferably for women) to ‘Top International Conferences’.
The initiative has been jointly undertaken under the leadership of Sudha Murty, Chairperson, Infosys Foundation and Prof. P P Chakrabarti, Director, IIT Kharagpur. Speaking of the importance of investing in education and arts, Mrs. Sudha Murty said, “While advanced education helps us leap forward by developing innovative solutions, unearthing and studying ancient civilizations enables us to reflect on the culture of bygone societies.
Infosys Foundation recognizes the importance of both Education and Culture, and is committed to supporting programs in both these areas. Through our partnership with IIT-Kharagpur, we aim to invest in facilitating collaborative learning for researchers as well as funding the study of ancient civilizations”.
“Corporate houses have a long-standing relation with IIT Kharagpur in the domain of sponsored research and consultancy projects. The Institute receives more than Rs. 100 crores each year from various industrial housesforvarious kinds of industrially relevant research. With Government of India emphasizing on Corporate Social Responsibility fund allocation, IIT Kharagpur has taken focused initiative towards this goal” added Prof. Chakrabarti.
Prof. Anindya Sarkar, Lead Investigator of the project ‘Tracking the Antiquity & Climate during Bronze Age Harappan /Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC) in India Using Isotope & Latest Chronological Techniques (CVO)’ said “the Infosys funding come at a right time when we just unearthed some old Indus valley settlements in India. We are seeking permission from Archaeological Survey of India for excavating a specific site and the grant will be used for studying cause of climate change using latest techniques of isotope and faunal analysis”
“Knowledge-sharing through international conferences is crucial for world-class research. Such conferences have been beneficial to students in networking for their doctoral/post-doctoral programs and have increased collaboration with international academic institutes.
IIT KGP has been encouraging students to participate in international conferences and grooming them for opportunities to learn and contribute about the latest research in their field of interest. Every year over 250 students participate in conferences and experience rewarding personal interactions.
With support from Infosys Foundation, 8-10 meritorious girl students will be selected by a committee at IIT KGP to be sent to top conferences.These students will have Infosys Foundation mentioned during their trip and on their presentation” added Prof. S K Ray, Dean Postgraduate Studies & Research.
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