IESA to collaborate with DST for Research and Development Fellowship Program
Union Government of India's Department of Science and Technology (DST) and India Energy Storage Alliance (IESA) have announced their collaboration for Research and Development fellowship program. The program was announced at DST-organized 'International Platform on Hydrogen Economy - An Industry-Academia Conclave 2022' event that took place in New Delhi on 30th September 2022.
As the world shifts towards clean energy, the DST-IESA Industry Research and Development Fellowship program provides a pathway for post-doctoral researchers to pursue their industrial research careers in the clean energy sector.
The fellowship program aims to assist recent Ph.D. holders to continue to pursue research on industry-informed challenges in clean energy and drive research collaboration, translation, and commercialization of the outcomes. The fellowship will further help bridge the gap between academia and industry by recognizing and supporting innovations in clean energy technologies, according to the IESA.
Speaking about the collaboration, Dr Ranjith Krishna Pai, Scientist, TMD, DST, Govt. of India said, "DST and IESA are pleased to launch Industry Research & Development Fellowship Programme 2022 (IRDFP) call for applications which supports academia-industry interactions in order to address industry‐informed challenges with the primary goal to create a pathway to support academic researchers in establishing careers in industry".
He added that the fellowship will enhance the skills of the fellow and will be of mutual benefit to both the industry and academic partners. "We seek to support industry and academia interactions and DST & IESA have joined hands to becoming the bridge between the academic researchers and the industry partners in the specific area of Clean Energy".
Dr Rahul Walawalkar, President, India Energy Storage Alliance (IESA) said, "Together with DST, GoI, we at IESA are thrilled to introduce this Industry Research & Development Fellowship Programme (IRDFP) 2022. DST is playing a critical role in funding research and development for energy storage and green hydrogen technologies through Mission Innovation".
IESA has set a vision to make India a global hub for R&D, manufacturing and adoption of advanced energy storage and emerging clean technologies. "We are aiming to bridge the industry academy gap and allow promising researchers to work with 150+ leading industries focusing on energy storage, e-mobility and green hydrogen ecosystem", he added.
"This is just a small step. Based on the feedback of the 1st batch of DST - IESA Industry R&D fellowship, we will look forward to expanding the fellowship to more researchers in coming years", Dr. Walawalkar added.
The fellowship program will facilitate the academia-industry interactions, enhancing the breadth of training of academic researchers, and providing them with a pathway to a career in industrial R&D. Relevant research areas for the program includes the following:
- Industry-informed challenges related to energy storage
- Zero-carbon energy
- Smart grids
- Green Hydrogen Technologies
- e-mobility
- Policies in the energy sector
- Economics affecting the energy sector
- Social sciences for the energy sector
Moreover, the DST-IESA fellowship funds research on industry-informed problems across a broad range of disciplines related to clean energy focusing on advanced energy storage, green hydrogen, and e-mobility technologies. The fellowship lasts for a year and offers a monthly stipend of ₹ 50,000.
Post-doctoral and doctoral researchers working in Indian and international universities with keen interest in clean energy and related challenges are eligible to apply for this fellowship program. Applicants are required to be under 35 years of age, and must be an enrolled PhD scholar or finished doctorate within the previous three years.
Additionally, the DST-IESA Industry Research & Development Fellowship is exclusively open to Indian citizens. The program's registration period opens on September 30 and ends on December 15th.
