Infosys Foundation, the philanthropic branch of Infosys, has said it has established faculty chairs at eight leading academic institutes across India over the past one year.
The foundation, started in 1996, has offered Rs 2-33 crore grants in order to set up the chairs with a total commitment of Rs 56 crore. The funds to be contributed will be used for research in several areas like rural development, agriculture, economics, mathematics, biology, technology, obstetrics & gynaecology, and cancer.
Renowned institutes ranging from International Institute for Information Technology in Bengaluru (IIIT-B), Institute of Bioinformatics and Applied Biotechnology (IBAB), All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS), Presidency University in Kolkata, Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and many others will be the beneficiaries of the faculty chairs.
Infosys Foundation Chairperson Sudha Murty said her team believes "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 as economic, agriculture, science and medicine, we aim to elevate research excellence and contribute significantly towards improving the quality of people's lives," she said.
Infosys Chief Executive Officer Vishal Sikka said: "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."
The Infosys Chairs will encourage research, offer advanced training, support student and faculty exchange programmes in India and abroad.
The donated funds will also be used to provide travel fellowships for conferences and inviting internationally acclaimed professors to India for academic purposes. A part of the funds will also be employed for researches to recognise and discover new drugs and to prepare policies to enhance agricultural growth, value chains and food security.
