The Indo-U.S. Science and Technology Forum (IUSSTF) was established in the year 2000 under an agreement between the Governments of India and United States of America with a mandate to promote, catalyze and seed bilateral collaboration in science, technology, engineering and biomedical research through substantive interaction amongst government, academia and industry.
As its mandate, IUSSTF provides an enabling platform to the scientific enterprises of the two nations by supporting an S&T program portfolio that is expected to foster sustainable interactions with a potential to forge long term collaborations. IUSSTF program manifests are largely catalytic in nature that helps to create awareness through exchange and dissemination of information and opportunities in promoting bilateral scientific and technological cooperation. IUSSTF has an evolving program portfolio that is largely conceived and driven by scientific communities of both the countries through extending support for symposia, workshops, conferences on topical and thematic areas of interest; visiting professorships and exchange programs; travel grants; fellowships; advanced training schools; public-private networked centres and knowledge R & D networked centres. IUSSTF also works towards nurturing contacts between young and mid- career scientists by convening stimulating flagship events like the Frontiers of Science and Frontiers of Engineering symposium through the U.S. National Academies model. At the same time it reaches out to industries by partnering with business associations to generate high quality events on technology opportunities for business development to foster elements of innovation and enterprise through networking between academia and industry.
IUSSTF maintains a close working relationship with the federal agencies, laboratories, government institutions, and the academia in U.S. and India, cutting across all disciplines. IUSSTF has been entrusted to administer strategic bi-national initiatives that include the US-India S&T Endowment Fund (for joint research and development, innovation, entrepreneurial and commercialization activities in S&T); Indo-US Joint Clean Energy Research and Development Center (to support multi-institutional network projects in clean energy using public-private partnership model of funding); India-US Grand Challenge on Affordable Blood Pressure Measurement Technologies for Low-Resource Settings in India and the US; PACEsetter Fund (early stage grant funding to accelerate the commercialization of innovative off-grid clean energy products, system and business models); and, Partnerships for International Research and Education (a program to support high quality projects in which advances in research and education could not occur without international collaboration).
As an autonomous not-for-profit bilateral organization, IUSSTF has the ability, agility and flexibility to engage and involve industry, private R&D labs; and non-governmental entities in its evolving activity manifold. This operational uniqueness allows the IUSSTF to receive grants and contributions from independent sources both in India and USA, besides the assured core funding from the two governments.
IUSSTF solicits proposals for its activities twice a year (March and August) and awards are made on the basis of peer reviews both in India and USA.
IUSSTF values your interactions and looks forward to work with the S&T community of both countries to implement new ideas that endeavour to promote cutting edge Indo-U.S. Science and Technology collaborations.
