Purdue announces growing partnerships in India at event with Senator Young and Ambassador Garcetti

Purdue President Mung Chiang shakes hands Friday with (left) Eric Garcetti, U.S. Ambassador to India, and U.S. Sen. Todd Young, following announcements of the first Purdue-India Center for Education and Employment and the U.S.-India Center of Excellence in Semiconductors, both in India. The afternoon announcement also included plans for joint degree offerings and alumni engagement in India. (Purdue University Photo/John Underwood)

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue University is further strengthening its educational partnership with India by announcing its Center for Education and Employment in the country as well as a US-India Center of Excellence in Semiconductors with the Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad , with the support of the US and Indian governments. Plans for joint degree offerings and graduate engagement, as well as the new semiconductor center, were unveiled during a conversation with Indiana Senator Todd Young and Eric Garcetti, the US ambassador to India.

It marks the latest chapter in Purdue’s successful 125-year relationship with India, dating back to its first Indian students.

President Mung Chiang unveiled plans for the Purdue-India centers Friday (Nov. 1) as part of a campus visit and public forum by Young and Garcetti.

The Purdue-India Center for Education and Engagement will give Purdue a presence in India, including a new foundation to offer joint degrees in high-demand fields including artificial intelligence, data science, semiconductors and business. The degrees will be offered in collaboration with strategic partner institutions in India.

The Center also provides a central location to further promote the long-standing partnership, providing a direct gateway to government and industry relations, strategic partnerships with Indian universities, alumni engagement and student recruitment.

“Purdue is excited to build on our long-standing partnership with Indian institutions and companies across a wide range of disciplines,” Chiang said. “Both our new Center for Education and Employment in Delhi and the new US-India Center of Excellence in Semiconductors (CES), together with IIT Hyderabad and supported by the US and Indian governments, are milestones in expanding this strategic partnership, with many opportunities for our students and faculty, and continued growth in Purdue’s global impact.”

More than 3,000 students from India study on Purdue’s campus—the university’s largest international student population—and there are more than 300 faculty, researchers, and staff of Indian origin in the Purdue community.

Friday’s announcement follows a series of meetings from the end of September in three Indian cities, among a Purdue delegation, Indian government officials, leading academic institutions and industry leaders. Discussions focused on educational collaboration, expanding joint research and development initiatives and exploring new opportunities.

“Purdue’s expanding connections provide the US and India with the tools for continued global success,” Young said. “Forward-looking thinking like this can lay the foundation for encouraging two-way trade and investment in the technology sector, especially in high-impact areas like semiconductors and AI.”

Garcetti welcomed Purdue’s delegation to New Delhi in September. Discussions with Garcetti and other Indian government officials that week focused on improving cooperation in research and education and how Purdue can engage with India to advance mutual interests in developing and protecting critical technologies such as intelligence artificial intelligence, quantum computing and more.

“Purdue has a strong presence in India and has demonstrated its support for industry and academia in India,” Garcetti said. “Establishing a presence like this in India empowers students from both nations and strengthens workforce and educational ties. I applaud Purdue’s leadership and institutional partnerships that contribute so much to the US-India relationship.”

This mutual support includes the joint involvement of Purdue and India in the new US-India Center for Excellence in Semiconductors. Purdue will actively engage with leaders in the semiconductor industry to expand this bilateral center of excellence with activities that continue joint research and workforce development.

As part of Purdue’s three pillars of research, learning and engagement, the long-standing Purdue-India partnership helps shape future technology and education for years to come by leveraging important connections in academia, government and industry.

Friday’s announcement is just the latest involving Purdue and India. In May 2023, Purdue signed an agreement to become the flagship semiconductor academic partner with the Indian government, encouraging joint research and development, education and talent development in this critical area.

As part of Friday’s campus visit, Young and Garcetti toured the Birck Nanotechnology Center, which houses Purdue’s semiconductor and microelectronics research and includes the 25,000-square-foot Scifres Nanofabrication Laboratory cleanroom — among the largest academic cleanrooms in the country.

About Purdue University

Purdue University is a public research institution that demonstrates excellence at scale. Ranked among the top 10 public universities and with two colleges in the top four in the United States, Purdue discovers and disseminates knowledge with unprecedented quality and scale. More than 105,000 students study at Purdue in various ways and locations, including nearly 50,000 in person on the West Lafayette campus. Committed to accessibility and affordability, Purdue’s main campus has frozen tuition for 13 years in a row. See how Purdue never stops in its persistent pursuit of the next giant leap — including its first comprehensive urban campus in Indianapolis, the Mitch Daniels School of Business, Purdue Computes and the One Health initiative — at https://www.purdue.edu/president/strategic-initiatives.