Norwegian ambassador Hans Jacob Frydenlund visits IIT, Roorkee

Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee (IIT Roorkee) hosted the Ambassador of Norway Hans Jacob Frydenlund along with a delegation from the Norwegian Embassy and Norwegian Geotechnical Institute (NGI).

"A boardroom meeting was held between the Norwegian delegation and the Director of IIT Roorkee along with a group of Deans and faculty members, graced by the presence of various dignitaries," said the statement.

"Among them were, the Dean of Sponsored Research and Industrial Consultancy; Dean of Resources and Alumni Affairs; Professor M.K. Singhal, Head of Hydro and Renewable Energy; Professor Mahendra Singh, Professor N.K. Samadhiya, and Professor Priti Maheshwari from Civil Engineering; Professor Yogendra Singh from Earthquake Engineering, Professor Ranjana Pathania from Biosciences and Bioengineering; Professor Ameya Nayak from Mathematics department; Dr Rajinder Kumar Bhasin from Regional Manager Asia, Norwegian Geotechnical Institute; Ms Marit Marie Strand, Counsellor for Cooperation, Norway Embassy," it read further.

There has been a long-standing research collaboration between IIT Roorkee and Norwegian Institutes.

According to the statement released, "Researchers from IIT Roorkee and Norwegian Institutes have jointly published more than 80 research papers in the past 10 years. There are a number of ongoing projects between IIT Roorkee and Norwegian agencies, Norwegian Seismic Array (NORSAR), NGI, and the University of Tromso etc."

"It was pointed out that there are past and ongoing collaborative research projects such as Earthquake Hazard and Risk Reduction on the Indian Subcontinent; Earthquake Risk Reduction in Himalaya with Institutional Cooperation between India and Norway; Indo-Norwegian Institutional Collaboration on Earthquake Engineering between Norwegian Seismic Array (NORSAR) and Norwegian Geotechnical Institute (NGI), Norway and IIT, ICARBA project between IIT Roorkee and the University of Tromso, Norway among others," it added.

These past and current projects testify to the strong research collaboration between IIT Roorkee and Norway.

Furthermore, it was stressed in the meeting that the existing collaborations between IIT Roorkee and Norwegian institutes can be leveraged to explore new areas of research partnerships.

Addressing the meeting, Professor A.K. Chaturvedi, Director, IIT Roorkee, said, "Researchers from Norway and IIT Roorkee are working together on multiple projects, over a long period of time. These collaborations should be leveraged to initiate more joint activities between IIT Roorkee and Norwegian Institutes."

"They could be in the form of student exchange programs, internships, faculty visits etc. Opportunities for involving Norwegian and Indian industries need to be explored. Also, faculty members from the departments other than the ones already collaborating need to be made aware of this long and productive collaboration," he added further.

While thanking the Director and the faculty members for the hospitality and a very productive discussion, Frydenlund avered, "The ongoing cooperation happening between IIT Roorkee and Norwegian Institutes is a step towards building a resilient relation.

He further said, "Moreover, Energy, Environment, and Renewable Energy are areas where researchers from IIT Roorkee and Norwegian institutes can look to collaborate besides rock science and tunneling technology."

"Additionally, as per the Norwegian government mandate, at least 50% of the students should attend a foreign institute during their study years. Furthermore, IIT Roorkee could be a good place for students from Norway to have international exposure," said Frydenlund.

Later on, the Norwegian delegation was given a tour of research facilities at the Departments of Civil Engineering and Biosciences, and Bioengineering. The members of the delegation interacted with the research scholars and students at the labs and learned about the ongoing collaborative projects. (ANI)