Deakin University, Australia has collaborated with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras to launch the Australia – India Centre for Energy (AICE), as per an official statement. According to it, AICE is a virtual centre established by a consortium of Australian and Indian universities, research institutions and energy businesses to promote partnership in transdisciplinary research, education, training, capacity building, knowledge and technology transfer.

Furthermore, AICE aims to work towards achieving United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 7 which seeks to ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable, and modern energy for all. The virtual centre was formally launched during IIT Madras Energy Summit 2022 held in Chennai, India.

“The centre will bring together multi-disciplinary capabilities from Australian and Indian partners to work on translational research and build capabilities to address the global energy challenge. It will also be a catalyst to develop partnerships with other centres in South Asia and ASEAN regions to develop innovative and sustainable solutions for global challenges,”  Bas Baskaran, associate dean, international and partnerships, Deakin University, said.  

In addition, the AICE aims to focus on joint educational programmes, online courses and joint degree programmes, capacity building through certification programmes and diploma extension centres.