Indian industry body recognition for Deakin University professor

Deakin University's Professor Peter Hodgson has been recognised by India's premier industry association for his leadership in developing partnerships between Indian industry and Australian researchers.

The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) last night acknowledged (felicitated) Professor Hodgson for his outstanding contribution to Indian academia and industry at the CII's 4th Global Higher Education Summit in Delhi. The Felicitation recognised the benefit to the Indian higher education system and industry gained from Professor Hodgson's vision, leadership, guidance and support.

Professor Hodgson, an inaugural ARC Australian Laureate Fellow and director of Deakin's Institute for Frontier Materials, has had a long term commitment to developing research and teaching partnerships in India.

Over the past seven years, Professor Hodgson has travelled extensively across India and has been instrumental in introducing the concept of industry–academia partnership. During his more than 50 visits to India, he has established successful partnerships with leading Indian universities and institutes including The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), TATA Steel and Indian Oil.

Through the Deakin India Research Initiative (DIRI), one of Professor Hodgson's initiatives launched in 2009, Deakin has 15 active Industry Academia Partnerships, many of which are being used as case studies and benchmarks across India and Australia as an ideal model for engagement.

More than 40 research projects are being undertaken through these partnerships and more than $A3million has been invested towards collaborative research work.

As an offshoot of the DIRI model, the joint Nanobiotechnology Research Centre was established in New Delhi in 2012 by TERI and Deakin. With total projected joint investment in excess of $A8million, the Centre aims to have more than 50 PhD students over the next five years.

Professor Hodgson said he was grateful for the award and saw it as a reflection of the great work that Deakin had been doing in India.

"It is particularly timely with the recent launch of the Australian Government blueprint for strengthening the country's engagement with Asia. This award and the substantial academic and research relationships we have developed with India are recognition that Deakin is well established to further the Government's agenda," he said.

The CII is a 117-year-old not-for-profit, industry led and managed premier business association with a direct membership of over 7100 Indian companies from the private as well as public sectors. These include SMEs and MNCs and an indirect membership of over 90,000 companies from around 250 national and regional sector associations across India.