Government and CSIR Sign MoU for Joint Doctorate Programs in Earth Sciences
The Earth Sciences Ministry and CSIR have signed an MoU to establish joint PhD programs across ten research institutes.
New Delhi, October 19 (Daily Kiran) : The Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) and the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) have officially signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to launch joint doctorate programs. This agreement, finalized on Monday, recognizes all ten research institutes under the MoES as affiliated research institutions of CSIR, paving the way for collaborative PhD initiatives.
According to a statement from the MoES, this institutional partnership combines the ministry’s advanced research facilities with CSIR’s flexible academic framework. The collaboration aims to facilitate PhD programs in various fields of Earth system sciences, including atmospheric science, oceanography, and polar science.
This partnership integrates the MoES and its ten institutes with CSIR, establishing a cohesive system for advanced scientific research and academic capacity building in ocean science, atmospheric science, hydrology, and planetary systems.
The joint framework is designed to promote interdisciplinary research, streamline the sharing of resources and infrastructure among national laboratories, and enhance educational opportunities for early career scientists and students.
Dr. Srinivasa Kumar Tummala, Secretary of the MoES, emphasized the significant benefits of this partnership. He stated that this collaboration is expected to serve as an excellent partnership for all educators and researchers in Earth sciences and technology.
Under this arrangement, students selected for CSIR’s PhD programs will conduct research at the MoES institutes. They will be guided by scientists recognized as CSIR faculty members. The doctorate degree will be awarded by CSIR, with clear mention of the host institute on the certificate.
The statement noted that all ten institutes are participating in CSIR’s latest PhD admission cycle. To facilitate academic activities, each institute has appointed a nodal coordinator from CSIR, along with a central coordinator within the MoES.
This collaboration will provide opportunities for doctoral studies in specialized areas of Earth system sciences, including weather forecasting and climate services, numerical weather prediction, polar region and cryosphere research, ocean observation and marine robotics, deep-sea mining and desalination, seismology and earthquake risk assessment, coastal processes, marine living resources, and the application of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) in Earth sciences.
Students will be credited as inventors under any intellectual property rights (IPR) generated from research, with joint intellectual property shared by mutual agreement.
