Chennai: The University of Leeds and IIT Madras have signed an MoU to establish a Joint Virtual Centre of Excellence on Sustainable Development (VCoE-SD).

This partnership aims to enhance collaboration, consolidate links with other Indian universities, and develop multidisciplinary teams to lead global research and innovation in sustainability.

The MoU facilitates joint research projects, academic activities, personnel exchanges, and sharing of resources.

The British Deputy High Commissioner to Chennai, Mr. Oliver Ballhatchet, praised the partnership as a model of UK-India collaboration addressing global challenges. Prof. Vasilis Sarhosis from the University of Leeds and Dr. Satyanarayanan Seshadri from IIT Madras expressed enthusiasm about the partnership's potential for groundbreaking research and global impact.

The collaboration is expected to yield significant research outcomes and strengthen the international network of sustainability experts.