The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi and France's Sorbonne University have strengthened their academic collaboration by announcing new joint Master's and PhD programmes scheduled to begin in 2026. The partnership also broadens its research focus beyond healthcare to include advanced scientific and technological disciplines.

Strengthening Indo-French Academic Cooperation

The latest agreement builds upon the Franco-Indian Integrated Health Campus, an initiative established to encourage interdisciplinary education and collaborative research. The expanded partnership is intended to promote innovation, academic excellence, student mobility, and joint research activities between India and France.

The decision followed discussions held during a June 2026 visit by an IIT Delhi delegation led by Director Prof. Rangan Banerjee to Sorbonne University. Both institutions agreed to broaden their cooperation into additional areas of science and technology.

New Academic Programmes from 2026

Students enrolled in these programmes will benefit from access to faculty expertise, research infrastructure, and academic resources available at both institutions.

Expansion into Emerging Research Areas

While healthcare remains an important area of collaboration, the institutions will also work together in several emerging disciplines:

• Artificial Intelligence
• Robotics
• Materials Science
• Computer Science
• Informatics
• Interdisciplinary research addressing global technological and societal challenges

Future initiatives include expanding research infrastructure, increasing faculty and student exchanges, promoting jointly supervised doctoral research, introducing additional dual-degree programmes, organizing international academic workshops, and collaborating on research addressing global issues.

Building on an Established Foundation

The Franco-Indian Integrated Health Campus continues to serve as the foundation of this collaboration by bringing together expertise from engineering, medicine, life sciences, social sciences, and digital technologies. The initiative has already supported research projects, internships, faculty exchanges, student mobility programmes, workshops, and scientific collaboration.

Supporting the India-France Strategic Partnership

The expanded partnership reflects the broader strategic relationship between India and France in areas including higher education, research, innovation, healthcare, and digital technologies.

The collaboration has also received international recognition. During the Bharat Innovates 2026 event, French President Emmanuel Macron highlighted the IIT Delhi–Sorbonne partnership as an important example of scientific and educational cooperation between the two nations.

According to Prof. Rangan Banerjee, the institutions have already established collaborative postgraduate programmes through their healthcare partnership. The expansion into fields such as artificial intelligence, sustainable technologies, robotics, and materials science is expected to create new opportunities for high-impact research, talent development, and innovation.