ICTP Welcomes Delegation of the Government of India

The prominent role played by the city of Trieste in the science dialogue between Italy and India was highlighted on Friday 13 November during the visit of the Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science & Technology and Earth Sciences Jitendra Singh. As part of a three-day official visit to Italy, the Minister spent a day in Trieste, where he visited ICTP as well as the Elettra Synchrotron Facility and the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB).

ICTP’s strong ties with India and its scientific community date back to its early days. Since its founding, the Centre has welcomed more than 15,000 scientists from India who have participated in workshops and conferences organised by ICTP and benefitted from ICTP’s training and career development programmes. Over the years, the important contributions of Indian scientists have been recognised by ICTP’s awards, including the Dirac Medal, the ICTP Prize, and the Ramanujan Prize, which for many years was generously funded by the Department of Science and Technology (DST) of India. Recently, ICTP and the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) signed an agreement laying the groundwork for researchers from both institutes to collaborate on research and training activities in the fields of weather, Earth and climate science. 

The recent visit of the Indian delegation to ICTP was the occasion to sign a Letter of Intent confirming the commitment of the DST and ICTP to further collaboration through joint mentoring and training activities, alongside conferences that will take place both at ICTP and in India, and by encouraging researchers’ mobility to the Centre. While at ICTP, Hon. Minister of State Singh also met and interacted with young researchers from India currently enrolled in PhD and postdoctoral programmes at various institutes in Trieste, including ICTP, the International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA), the University of Trieste, the National Institute of Oceanography and Applied Geophysics – OGS, Area Science Park, the Italian National Institute for Nuclear Physics (INFN), the Italian National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF), the United World College, Elettra and ICGEB. The Minister wanted to learn more about their research and scientific interests. 

Stronger cooperation with the DST aligns with ICTP’s strategic aim to create an International Science Alliance, a global network of public and private partners worldwide that will provide a coordinated framework for collaborative activities, distributed programmes, shared resources and mutual support, with the ultimate objective to improve global access to science. 

“Thousands of Indian scientists have benefitted from the scientific programs at ICTP and collaborative visits to Trieste. While working in India at the Tata Institute for Fundamental Research, I saw the impact of ICTP from a different angle. For example, ICTP provided crucial support for the major conference “Strings 2001” that we had organized in Mumbai,” said ICTP DIrector Atish Dabholkar. He added, “ICTP now seeks to enhance collaboration with India's vibrant scientific community within the framework of the Centre's International Science Alliance. By partnering with the DST, ICTP and the Indian scientific community can join forces and ultimately become better prepared to face the global challenges in front of us, from climate change to the energy crisis, and to address the issues and opportunities brought by AI and quantum technologies.”