On 27th November 2020, IIT Guwahati and IIT (BHU) Varanasi conjointly signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). IIT Guwahati and IIT (BHU), Varanasi are soon to initiate a Joint Doctoral Programme in July 2021 under this MOU. According to the Directors of both the Institutes, Prof. T. G. Sitharam, Director, IIT Guwahati, and Prof. Pramod Kumar Jain, Director, IIT (BHU), this is the first time in the country that two IITs have joined hands to offer a joint degree programme.

This idea of offering a joint PhD programme was originally proposed by Prof. T.  G. Sitharam in 53rd IIT Council Meeting conducted on 27th September 2019. The vision behind this is to build a ‘Network of Excellence’ of all IITs rather than each one striving to become a ‘Tower of Excellence’. This proposal of starting a Joint Degree Programs was finally accepted by the IIT Council. Both the institutes are expecting significant boost in high quality research and foundation for further academic progression through this academic collaboration.

Under the National Education Policy (NEP2020), such educational reforms and academic collaborations between premier educational institutes will promote multidisciplinary academic programs and research for encouraging and promoting a knowledge-based economy of the country. IIT BHU is considering starting a Joint MTech program on similar lines to provide multi-institutional and multidisciplinary MTech programs. IIT Guwahati has also agreed to be part of this initiative.

Among other frontier areas of research and innovation, IIT Guwahati is working towards augmenting critical science research initiatives in Genomics, Developmental Biology, Health Care and Bioinformatics, Flexible Electronics, Advanced Functional Materials, Sustainable Polymers, Rural Technologies, Disaster Resilience and Risk Reduction, and Water Resources and Management. IIT Guwahati is poised to scale newer heights through all round growth and development.