Imperial and the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, India (IIT Bombay) have launched a strategic partnership across research, innovation and education.

The agreement begins a new phase of closer collaboration between the two institutions and will initially prioritise research in clean technology and medical technology.

IIT Bombay is one of Imperial’s top collaborating institutions in India and this new partnership builds on years of successful joint research projects between Indian and British academics.

This new partnership with IIT Bombay builds on Imperial’s longstanding links with India and strengthens a relationship that already includes significant peer-to-peer collaborations. Professor Peter Haynes Provost and Deputy President of Imperial College London

The partnership will enable several key initiatives between the universities including joint research and innovation programmes, academic workshops and student entrepreneurship programmes.

There will also be opportunities for students and researchers to work closely together and undertake placements and exchanges in London and Mumbai, working on joint projects and sharing knowledge and data.

The Imperial-IIT Bombay partnership signals the growing collaborations between scientists in the UK and India.

Last year the countries signed a Free Trade Agreement and announced the new ‘India-UK Vision 2035’, an ambitious and future-focused agreement which will see the two nations deepen collaboration in areas such as cutting-edge technology and research, building on the Technology Security Initiative, focused on future telecoms, AI and critical minerals, laying the ground for future collaboration on semi-conductors, quantum, bio-technology and advanced materials.

By bringing together our complementary strengths in research, innovation and education, we aim to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time, particularly in areas such as clean technology and medical technology. Professor Shireesh B. Kedare Director of IIT Bombay

The Imperial-IIT Bombay agreement was celebrated at an event in Mumbai attended by IIT Bombay’s Director, Professor Shireesh B. Kedare, and Imperial’s Director of the School of Convergence Science, Professor Anthony Bull.

Imperial is ranked second in the world and first in the UK and Europe in the QS World University Rankings 2027. The new partnership will leverage the expanding activity through Imperial Global India, which drives high-impact science and technology programmes with partners in India.

Professor Peter Haynes, Provost and Deputy President of Imperial College London, said: “This new partnership with IIT Bombay builds on Imperial’s longstanding links with India and strengthens a relationship that already includes significant peer-to-peer collaborations.

“It reflects Imperial’s strong commitment to collaboration with leading institutions around the world, bringing together complementary expertise to address shared challenges.

“By working side by side with colleagues at IIT Bombay, we will accelerate research and innovation with the potential to make a real difference to people’s lives in India, the UK and beyond. In doing so, we are also proud to play our part in strengthening the deep and growing partnership between the UK and India in science and technology.”

Professor Shireesh B. Kedare, Director of IIT Bombay, said: “This strategic partnership with Imperial College London marks an important step in strengthening the longstanding ties between IIT Bombay and Imperial.

“By bringing together our complementary strengths in research, innovation and education, we aim to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time, particularly in areas such as clean technology and medical technology. We look forward to creating meaningful opportunities for our students, researchers and innovators to work together and translate knowledge and research into solutions with global impact.”

Joint research projects

Research teams from IIT Bombay and Imperial are already collaborating on dozens of research projects including water management, energy security, disease modelling and climate science.

One project, led by Dr Angela Kedgley (Imperial) and Dr Darshan S. Shah (IIT Bombay) brought researchers together to improve the accuracy of remote monitoring of upper limb movements for potential applications in diagnostics and physiotherapy and rehabilitation. The research could help develop cheaper and more accessible tools to improve care of patients with neuromusculoskeletal conditions of the arm.

Experts from Imperial, IIT Bombay and industry partners also came together to support data-driven power sector reforms in India. The team, led by Dr Mirabelle Muûls (Imperial) and Professor Suryanarayana Doolla (IIT Bombay) facilitated structured dialogue on the potential for demand flexibility to enhance grid resilience, decarbonisation, and affordability.

Another research project is harnessing quantum computing and biotechnology to help farmers grow stronger crops that are more resilient to climate change. The project is led by Dr Po-Heng Lee (Imperial) and Dr Indrajit Chakraborty (IIT Bombay).

This year 170 students from IIT Bombay also signed up to Imperial Enterprise Lab’s Global Challenge Lab – a platform to build a startup idea from scratch, mentored by global industry experts.

Strengthening UK-India links

Last year Imperial launched Imperial Global India to drive high-impact science and technology programmes with academic, industrial and innovation partners, nurture a two-way flow of STEMB talent between the UK and India and support Imperial’s growing Indian alumni network. The liaison office in India’s tech capital Bengaluru creates a powerful hub and communications channel for Imperial to build on this strong foundation of collaboration.

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