Telangana partners with Australia’s RMIT University to strengthen research

Hyderabad, Oct 22 (PTI) The Telangana government on Wednesday said it has signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) with RMIT University, one of Australia’s leading institutions, to strengthen cooperation in research, innovation, and advanced education.

The partnership will drive joint research, innovation, and skill development across R&D, higher education, and industry collaboration — with a special focus on nurturing an industry-ready global workforce in life sciences, an official release said here.

Telangana IT and Industries Minister D Sridhar Babu, who witnessed the signing in Melbourne, said the collaboration reflects Telangana’s commitment to transforming itself into a Global Innovation Hub through meaningful international partnerships.

"This LoI marks a blueprint for the next phase of Genome Valley’s growth and Telangana’s leadership in the global life sciences economy," he said.

The minister said that Telangana has emerged as a life sciences leader in Asia, with an ambitious goal to scale the sector’s value to USD 250 billion by 2030. Currently, over 2,000 national and international pharmaceutical and biotech companies with a combined valuation of USD 80 billion operate in the state, he said.

Telangana contributes nearly 40 per cent of India’s pharmaceutical output and supplies one-third of the world’s vaccines, the release said.

"The government is committed to developing the next generation of skilled professionals in life sciences, who can meet future global demands," he said.

He also announced plans to establish a Telangana Life Sciences School, which will serve as a specialissed centre for advanced learning and industry-oriented training.

Under the newly signed LoI, joint PhD programmes, student and faculty exchange initiatives, and collaborative research projects will be launched.

RMIT University and BITS Hyderabad will jointly guide students and researchers, enabling them to pursue world-class research in emerging domains.

A joint academic curriculum, aligned with industry needs, will also be developed to prepare a future-ready skilled workforce capable of contributing to the global life sciences value chain, the release said.

The LoI was signed by Shakti Nagappan, CEO, Telangana Life Sciences Foundation, and Professor Catherine Itsiopoulos, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, RMIT University, the release added. PTI VVK VVK KH