As part of its historic centenary celebrations, the Indian Institute of Technology (Indian School of Mines) announced the launching of two pioneering research projects, SEER and Bioscopy. These projects, the result of landmark collaboration between UiT – The Arctic University of Norway, IIT (ISM) Dhanbad, and the Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR) officially commence from Monday.
The collaborations bring together leading academics and researchers from around the world Today's signing of MOU was held in presence of Prof. Dilip
Prasad, Prof. Krishna Agarwal, Biswajoy Ghosh, Yi Huang, Farhad Niknam, Lars Sørensen, and Florian Ströhl from Tromsø, Norway. Renowned Indian researchers Dr. Nirmal Goswami and Dr. B.P. Bagh from IMT Bhubaneswar, alongside senior leadership from IIT (ISM) Dhanbad, including Director Prof. Sukumar Mishra, Deputy Director Dheeraj Kumar, Prof. R.M. Bhattacharjee, and Prof. Tanmoy Maity, will also be in attendance.
The Norwegian Minister of External Affairs joined the event virtually.
The Bioscopy project, designed to advance education and research in microscopy, is funded by the IndoNorwegian Cooperation Programme Grant for Higher Education and Research, supported by Norway’s Directorate for Higher Education and Skills and India’s University Grants Commission (UGC). Prof. Krishna Agarwal from UiT is leading the project as Principal Investigator (PI), with Prof. Biswajit Chowdhury from IIT (ISM) Dhanbad serving as Co-PI.
The SEER project, led by Prof. Dilip K. Prasad from UiT’s Department of Computer Science, focuses on training students and young researchers to harness Artificial Intelligence (AI) for Earth observation, enabling them to
monitor environmental changes and tackle pressing climate challenges.
Speaking on the collaboration, Prof. R.M. Bhattacharjee, Dean of International Relations & Alumni Affairs at IIT (ISM), said, “As part of our centenary celebrations, this collaboration represents a key step in expanding IIT
(ISM)’s international reach and research capabilities. This partnership with UiT Norway not only strengthens academic ties between our institutions but also offers new avenues for global mobility, education, and innovative
research through the SEER and Bioscopy projects.”
These projects bring together a diverse array of esteemed partners, including Norinnova, AcSIR India, and several prominent researchers. They aim to significantly contribute to advancements in climate monitoring, sustainability
research, and the development of modern educational models through transdisciplinary collaboration.
