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“India-US university partnerships keystone in closeness…” Akhlesh Lakhtakia
Lakhtakia is the Evan Pugh University Professor and Charles G. Binder Professor of Engineering Science and Mechanics at the Penn State
Akhlesh Lakhtakia / Poornima Tomy / Penn State. Creative Commons
A group of stakeholders from the Association of Indian Universities were addressed by Akhlesh Lakhtakia, who is the Charles G. Binder Professor of Engineering Science and Mechanics and the Evan Pugh University Professor at Penn State.
The creation of a STEM education program in partnership between the United States and India was the main topic of his speech. This presentation was part of Lakhtakia's broader initiatives to foster Indo-U.S. relations in higher education.
In an interview with Penn State News, Lakhtakia emphasized that the ‘keystones of this closeness’ are university partnerships between the U.S. and India. He highlighted that the significant presence of nearly 270,000 Indian students, researchers, and faculty members at U.S. universities plays a pivotal role in establishing intellectual connections through research and scholarship.
Lakhtakia holds key roles in various capacities, serving as an expert consultant for the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs. Additionally, he chairs the U.S.-India Higher Education Partnerships Committee and is a Jefferson Science Fellow. Notably, he played a pivotal role in creating a master's program designed for Indian students seeking educational opportunities and work experience in the US.
“After discussions with colleagues and Indian students at universities in both countries, I devised a pathway for a 4+1 program, where students will spend four years in India earning a bachelor’s degree, followed by one self-funded year in the U.S. to earn a master’s degree in a technoscientific area,” he said.
Under the collaborative initiative, an annual group of engineering and science undergraduate students from an Indian university will be selected to undergo specialized instruction during their final year in India. Following this, they will transition into a 12-month, practice-oriented master's degree program provided by a partnering U.S. university. Subsequently, graduates of this program will be eligible for three years of practical training with a U.S. employer, Lakhtakia explained.
He also highlighted the contribution of Indian Americans in strengthening the Indo-US partnership in higher education. “Chita Das, department head and distinguished professor of computer science and engineering, and Vijaykrishnan Narayanan, associate dean for innovation and the A. Robert Noll Chair of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, are leaders of the India-U.S. Defense Acceleration Ecosystem to expand the technology and defense cooperation between the governments, businesses and academic institutions of the two countries,” he said.
“Presently, Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi, herself an Indian-American, is one of the five co-chairs of the Association of American Universities task force focused on the expansion of research and academic partnerships among higher education institutions in the United States and India,” he added.
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