Today, December 20, the Delhi University (DU) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Shriram Institute for Industrial Research (SRI) for collaboration in research and development, said an official statement. The MoU was signed by Vikas Gupta, Registrar, on behalf of the university as the first party and Ddirector of the Shriram Institute for Industrial Research (SRI) Dr Mukul Dasas, the second party, as the authorised representative.

Initially, the MoU will be in force for a period of five years and may be renewed subsequently with mutual consent of both parties in writing, the statement said. DU and SRI have, under this MoU, agreed to collaborate for joint activities, including research projects, training, and workshops/conferences in areas of shared facilities and expertise, as stated in a report by PTI.

Under the collaboration, the experts and scientific staff from SRI may visit the DU, and reciprocally, the teachers, students and researchers from the DU may visit the SRI, fostering collaboration to share facilities and expertise between both institutions, it said. Further, SRI and DU may undertake collaborative research projects in areas of mutual interest and may apply for other collaborative projects or assignments jointly to national and international agencies, the statement said.

Additionally, the research scholars/scientists from SRI can register for PhD with DU, with one faculty member of the concerned department of DU and another faculty member from SRI as supervisors as per the mutually agreed terms. At the same time, a scientist with SRI may become a guide for the PhD students of DU.

Furthermore, DU and SRI may, as per the MoU, organise workshops/seminars jointly for mutual benefit and may provide short-term training to the students, faculty members and scientists of each other's institutions in their areas of specialisation by respective scientists/faculty on the request from either party. 

Similarly, SRI may provide training to the students/research scholars of the DU in areas of Research and Development, Pilot Plant and Innovation Support, Toxicological Studies and Microbiological Studies, Civil and Infrastructure, Environment Protection, Gamma Irradiation Processing, Calibration of equipment /Instruments and Technology Business Incubation, as stated in a report by PTI.