Oct 11, 2009
Amrita Center for Nanosciences, Kochi
 
Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham was invited by the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Brazil to attend a five-day seminar titled India-in-Focus in August.
 
UFRJ, considered as one of the top universities in South America, invited Amrita along with other leading universities from India — IIT Madras, IIT Kharagpur, University of Mumbai and University of Calcutta — to attend the seminar.
 

 
Lectures were hosted on Indian philosophy, culture, tradition, language, economy, science and technology. A round-table was organized to foster partnerships between UFRJ and Indian universities. Amrita was represented by Dr Shanti Nair, Dean of Research and Dean of the Center for Nanosciences at Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham.
 
“Every Indian university was invited to give a half-hour presentation on how they could collaborate on various projects with UFRJ or with the other institutions of Brazil,” Dr. Nair explained. “After our presentation, UFRJ expressed an interest in the work we are doing in the area of nano-technology and energy, specifically solar cells.”
 
The UFRJ enjoys a high reputation for its commitment to research. The institution offers 151 undergraduate courses, 116 graduate courses, and is developing over 115 extension projects in different fields of study. It is perhaps for all this that it is considered as one of the best universities of Latin America
 
“Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with UFRJ,” Dr. Nair added. “We expect the collaboration to move forward when representatives from UFRJ visit India for further discussions.”