The University of Birmingham and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore have inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen their academic engagement, the British institution said.

While initial research links exist between the Division of Biological Sciences at IISc and the College of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, the MoU has university-wide application with the intention that these links are a precursor for much wider interaction between the two institutions.

IISc is regarded as the premier institute for scientific research in India, and is the top ranked Indian institute in world university rankings. It currently hosts some of the leading academics in India in the field of Science.

Dr Apoorva Bhatt, lecturer, School of Biosciences, University of Birmingham and Dr Peter Lund, Senior Lecturer and a member of the Molecular Microbiology Research Group at the University , stated the MoU with IISc Bangalore, which formalizes the ties between two institutions with world-class research profiles in many areas, will assist the formation of future links.

Pharmabiz had earlier reported on the several partnerships by IISc. In mid 2010, Victoria’s Deakin University and IISc teamed up to conduct research on a new generation cancer drug. The research was under the Indo-Australian Science and Technology Fund. A grant of $2.7 billion project was sanctioned by the Australia-India Strategic Research Fund (AISRF). In addition it has also entered into a research collaboration agreement with Isha Diagnostics, Bangalore to study the movement disorders in humans. With the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore (IIM-B), it has signed an MoU to further strengthen its academic exchange and collaboration between the two institutes to bring together an appropriate mix of transnational R&D, business angels and venture capitalists.