Paris/New Delhi: In a significant boost to the India-France strategic partnership, leading Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), and prominent French universities, research organizations, and industry partners signed 19 agreements aimed at expanding cooperation in higher education, research, innovation, entrepreneurship, technology transfer, and student mobility.
The agreements cover a wide range of areas, including artificial intelligence, sustainability, climate change, energy, mobility, digital platforms, smart transportation systems, advanced computing, positioning and navigation technologies, incubation, and entrepreneurship.
Among the key developments, IIT Bombay expanded its partnerships with French institutions through amendments to existing agreements with Institut Polytechnique de Paris and Paris-Saclay University, adding collaboration in technology translation, incubation, and acceleration. IIT Delhi signed multiple innovation and entrepreneurship partnerships with French organizations focusing on energy, sustainability, climate change, and commercialization of research.
IIT Gandhinagar signed an Expression of Interest with French mobility platform BlaBlaCar to explore cooperation in AI, digital platforms, sustainable mobility, and innovation ecosystems. IIT Tirupati entered into a strategic academia-industry partnership with Safran Electronics & Defense to strengthen India’s ecosystem in Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT) technologies.
A Declaration of Intention was also signed between the IIT network, the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), and France’s UDICE network to promote academic, scientific, and research collaboration across areas of mutual interest.
Several agreements focused on student and faculty exchanges, including partnerships between IIT Madras and leading French institutions such as Université de Limoges, ESCP Business School, Clermont Auvergne INP, Université de Technologie de Compiègne, CentraleSupélec, and École Nationale Supérieure des Mines de Saint-Étienne.
Additionally, IISc Bengaluru signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Université Grenoble Alpes, while IIT Hyderabad partnered with industry leaders on advanced 3D computing systems.
The agreements reflect the growing depth of India-France cooperation in education, research, innovation, and technology, reinforcing the shared commitment of both countries to foster scientific excellence, talent mobility, and the development of future-ready solutions to global challenges.
