The Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar (IITGN) has joined an India-France academic and research collaboration initiative that will foster partnerships in higher education, research and innovation. A Declaration of Intent was signed in Nice, France, on June 14, 2026, during the Bharat Innovates 2026, between the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and Udice, a consortium of 13 leading French research-intensive universities.
The Declaration of Intent formalises a partnership of the leading institutions of India and France to promote academic, scientific and research cooperation in areas of common interest initially in multidisciplinary deep technologies and their applications.IIT Gandhinagar is among the participating Indian institutions which include 11 Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and Indian Institute of Science (IISc).
On the French side, the collaboration is represented by Udice, a consortium of 13 leading French research-intensive universities, including Université Côte d’Azur, Sorbonne Université, Institut Polytechnique de Paris, Université Paris-Saclay and Université de Bordeaux.The partnership is intended to encourage exchange of students, faculty and researchers, joint research projects, academic collaborations, publications, conferences and other collaborative endeavors. It is expected to bring new opportunities for knowledge sharing, innovation and long term research partnerships between institutions in India and France.
The Declaration of Intent was signed by Prof Rajat Moona, Director, IIT Gandhinagar, on behalf of the participating Indian institutions, and Prof Jeanick Brisswalter, President, Université Côte d’Azur, on behalf of the participating French institutions under the Udice network.”
Research and innovation today increasingly rely on collaboration between institutions and across borders. This initiative brings together leading academic institutions from India and France and opens up exciting opportunities for our students, faculty and researchers to learn from each other and work on problems of shared interest,” said Prof Moona.
The participating institutions will explore opportunities for joint research, academic exchanges and other collaborative activities in the years to come within the framework of the initiative. The initiative is expected to foster research collaboration between Indian and French institutions and open new avenues for international collaborations for the students and faculty at IIT Gandhinagar.