Gandhinagar: In what could be marked as the beginning of a strong relationship between Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar (IITGN) and University of Jaffna, three students from the Sri Lankan University have come to IITGN. They will spend their entire ten week summer break at IITGN carrying out research under the supervision of IITGN professors
Earlier, a delegation from IITGN visited Sri Lanka to explore opportunities of collaborations with institutes there. Dean of Academic Affairs at IITGN, Prof Amit Prashant said, “The students from University of Jaffna have come to do their summer internships at IITGN. This is a result of our extension of relationship with University of Jaffna. We have strong relationships with various universities across the world and we look forward to include University of Jaffna to the list.”
Two of the three BTech students from Sri Lanka, Ratnakumar Neethan and Suguneshwaran Nidershan are working with Prof Vineet Vashista at IITGN on a project for developing prosthetics limbs for the differently abled-people. The third student Dinu Wickramaarachchi is working on a project on solar power in India with Prof. Chelva Kumar.
Nidershan said, “I am really excited about the opportunity to work on this project as I am getting to learn so many things. It has also been a great opportunity to understand the academic cultures and practices in India in a better way and I am impressed. I will be looking for opportunities to come back for higher studies or pursue a career in India.
Prof Chelva Kumar of IITGN, a visiting professor from California of Sri Lankan origin said, “A good relationship between India and Sri Lanka will encourage more Sri Lankan students and professionals to work in India. This will be a win-win situation for both the countries. Not only will the growing demand for talent in India will be catered to, but Sri Lankans will not have to look at far away countries for jobs.” Prof Kumar said “Sri Lankans working and studying in India will be able to frequently return and contribute more to the development of Sri Lanka.”
