Infosys Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Infosys, announced that it has instituted 11 faculty chairs at eight leading academic institutes across India over the past 12 months. The Foundation has provided grants ranging from INR 2 crore to INR 33 crore for setting up the chairs with a total commitment of INR 56 crore. The donated funds will be used for research in areas such as obstetrics & gynecology, agriculture, economics, mathematics, technology, biology, rural development and cancer.
The beneficiaries are International Institute for Information Technology – Bangalore (IIIT-B), Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Institute of Bioinformatics and Applied Biotechnology (IBAB), Chennai Mathematical Institute (CMI), Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER), Presidency University, All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) and Indian Institute of Management – Ahmedabad (IIM-A).
The faculty chairs, also referred to as the Infosys Chairs, will promote research, provide advanced training, support student and faculty exchange programs in India and abroad. Along with these, the funds donated will be used to offer travel fellowships for conferences and inviting internationally renowned professors to India for academic pursuits. A part of the fund will also be utilized for research to identify and discover new drugs, and to develop policies to boost growth in agriculture, value chains and food security.
Speaking about the institutionalization of the chairs, Mrs. Sudha Murty, Chairperson of the Infosys Foundation, said, “We believe that scientific advancement is imperative for the progress of the nation. Through the Infosys Chairs, we seek to encourage scientists and researchers to collaborate with international academicians and enrich the student community with current concepts and the latest technologies. By diversifying our fund into areas such as economics, agriculture, science and medicine, we aim to elevate research excellence and contribute significantly towards improving the quality of people’s lives.”
Dr. Vishal Sikka, Chief Executive Officer, Infosys said, “The great teachers and mentors of my life have had a profound impact on me personally, and to this day I seek their advice and input at life’s most important moments. They have taught me that we can explore and find and ultimately work to solve the most fundamental challenges we see in the world around us, and that we can do this through our own imaginations and creativity, and by leveraging the great achievements and findings of those before us. I believe the Infosys Chairs will be the great influencers and guides for the next generation of learners, researchers, scientists and problem-finders, the mentors to help us find and solve the most important challenges ahead of us.”