Binghamton University president tours centers of excellence in India

Binghamton University, State University of New York, has collaborated with five Indian universities to create centers of excellence focusing on specific research and academic topics. Binghamton University President Harvey Stenger is visiting each of them this week to inaugurate the centers.

Stenger sees the new centers as part of a Binghamton initiative to broaden Binghamton University’s work with important partner universities in India and strengthen relationships that have been developed over the past 10 years.

“The greatest percentage of international graduate students at Binghamton University comes from India, and the country ranks No. 2 among our international undergraduates,” he said. “These centers of excellence foster a freer exchange of ideas that will help to solve the biggest issues faced by both our countries and the world in the 21st century.”

Leading the establishment of the centers is Krishnaswami “Hari” Srihari, dean and distinguished professor of the Thomas J. Watson School of Engineering and Applied Science and the executive vice provost for international initiatives and chief global affairs officer for Binghamton University.

“I am delighted that we have established a closer relationship between Binghamton University and excellent academic and research institutions through the Centers of Excellence. These centers provide a tremendous opportunity for our faculty, staff and students.” Srihari said. “The next step will be to expand our campus footprint not only in India but in other countries in Asia, Europe, South America and elsewhere.”

Stenger is visiting the centers of excellence with Professor Madhusudhan Govindaraju, associate chair of the Watson School’s computer science department. He will succeed Srihari as the vice provost for international education and global affairs starting June 1.

In his new role, Govindaraju will oversee international recruitment efforts, as well as provide guidance and oversight to the International Student and Scholar Services Office (ISSS), education abroad and student exchange initiatives.

“It’s an honor and a responsibility,” Govindaraju said. “I am deeply appreciative of the work that campus leaders have already put in to build the reputation and global impact of Binghamton University.”

More about the centers of excellence

• The Design Thinking & Innovation Centre of Excellence at Vishwakarma University in Pune seeks to co-create with Binghamton University sustainable solutions to complex, human-centric problems using design thinking processes and practices while integrating the indigenous art motifs of Vishwakarma’s culturally rich region.
• The Centre of Excellence for Autonomous Vehicle Research at the Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT) in Vellore focuses on mobility and transportation technologies such as drones, electric vehicles and self-driving cars, which will present new engineering and infrastructure challenges in India and across the world. This new research builds on the well-established Center for Automotive Research at VIT, which is comprised of faculty from the different schools of engineering at VIT.
• The Centre for Health Systems and Medical Engineering at the Sri Ramachandra Institute of Higher Education and Research in Chennai will support interdisciplinary teaching and research in healthcare systems engineering, operations management and data science/analytics. Students and faculty in engineering as well as those in biological sciences, medicine, dentistry, nursing, allied health, pharmacy and management will work with Binghamton counterparts on areas ranging from quality and performance improvement, artificial intelligence and machine learning.
• The Centre of Excellence in Data Science at Nirma University in Ahmedabad aims to develop innovative application and research for data science and artificial intelligence. A data science summer school, aimed at educating young researchers, will also be organized.
• Christ University in Bangalore will collaborate with Binghamton University’s Institute for Child Development, which is one of the nation’s leading organizations for the assessment, evaluation and treatment of children on the autism spectrum. There also is the possibility for broader engagement ranging from economics and management to English, the social sciences and engineering.