SCHEME FOR PROMOTION OF ACADEMIC AND RESEARCH COLLABORATION
Website: http://www.sparc.iitkgp.ac.in
Website: http://www.sparc.iitkgp.ac.in
About the Scheme
Scheme for Promotion of Academic and
Research Collaboration (SPARC) aims at
improving the research ecosystem of the
higher educational institutions in India
by facilitating academic as well as
research collaborations between Indian
institutions and the best institutions in
the world from 28 selected nations to
jointly solve problems of national and
international relevance.
ObjectiveSPARC proposes to enable productive academic cooperation by
supporting the following critical components that catalyze impact
making research
Visits and long-term stay
of international faculty /
researchers in Indian
institutions to pursue
teaching and research
Visits by Indian
students for training
in laboratories
worldwide
Visit by Indian
faculty to a
foreign institute
Joint research
project between India
and foreign institute
Joint development of niche
courses, world-class books
and monographs,
translatable patents,
demonstrable technologies
or action oriented research
outcomes and products
Consolidation of
bilateral cooperation
through academic and
research partnerships
through Indo-X
workshops in India
Publication,
Dissemination and
Visibility through a high
profile annual
international conference
in India
394 project
proposals are
being funded in
Phase I
Website: http://www.sparc.iitkgp.ac.in
Elements of a SPARC collaboration
A SPARC collaboration consists of a bilateral team working on a research
project with the following features:
• Topic of the research proposal falls in one of the Thrust Areas of
SPARC and addresses a challenging issue of theoretical,
experimental and/or translational value.
• Team must be comprised of:
At least 2 international
faculty
members
2 Indian
faculty
Members
2+2researchers pursuing
PhD or post-doc from
each side
Faculty members may be from
one or two eligible institutions
on either side.
Each side will have a Lead
Institution (LI) and a principal and
co-principal investigator(s)
Website: http://www.sparc.iitkgp.ac.in
Partner Countries and Nodal Indian Institutes28 Countries have been identified for collaboration in SPARC. For each country there will
be a Nodal Institutions (NI) in India who will be responsible for guiding Indian institutes
and for the coordination of activities between the participating Indian Institutions in India
and the respective foreign country as well as act as the liaison with the SPARC teams.
Thrust Areas
1. Fundamental Research
Sub-themes
Basic Sciences
Physical Sciences,
Chemical Sciences,
Biological Sciences
Applied and
Interdisciplinary
Sciences
Humanities
and Social
Sciences
Computational
and
Mathematical
Sciences
Earth, Atmosphere
and Environmental
Sciences
2. Emergent Areas of ImpactSub-themes
Advanced
Electronics and
Communication
Advanced
Functional and
Meta Materials
Structural
Genomics
and
Evolutionary
Biology
Artificial
Intelligence
and Cognitive
Science
Digital
Humanities
Infectious
Disease &
Clinical
Research
Website: http://www.sparc.iitkgp.ac.in
3. ConvergenceSub-themes
4. Action-Oriented ResearchSub-themes
5. Innovation-Driven ResearchSub-themes
Technologies for
Financial Inclusion
Technologies for
Forensic, Security
and Safety
Robotics and
Embedded
Systems
Nano,
Biotechnology and
Applications
Technologies for
Swachh Bharat
Design
Innovation
Law and
Society
Technologies for
Rural and Women
Empowerment
Agricultural and
Food
Sustainability
Technology
Enhanced Education
and Learning,
including Assistive
Technologies
River, Ocean,
Aviation and Space
Management
Technology
Future of Earth:
Green and Renewable
Technologies
Energy and Water
Sustainability
Science and
Heritage
Advanced
Manufacturing
Affordable
Health Care
Transportation and
Smart Infrastructure
Website: http://www.sparc.iitkgp.ac.in
Indian Institutes
All Indian institutes ranked in the overall top-
100 or category-wise top-100 in the India
Rankings (NIRF)
Only such private institutes which fall in the
above category, and also recognized under
12(B) of UGC Act
International Institutes
• The partner foreign institute must be in the
top 500 of QS World University Rankings or
in the top-200 QS World University Rankings
by subject.
Applications
Each eligible Indian institute will have an identified an institute
coordinator for monitoring the SPARC programme within the Institute.
Co-PI can be from other
academic Institutes/ National
Laboratories. No person from
Industry is eligible.
National
Coordinating
Institute (NC)
IIT Kharagpur is the National
Coordinating (NC) institute
responsible for the overall
execution of SPARC.
Roles and responsibilities …
Routing of SPARC funds for all stakeholders
Managing the on-line portal for submission,
evaluation, monitoring, dissemination of
SPARC proposals and selected projects
Coordinating the review of SPARC proposals
Organizing two annual SPARC conferences
Coordinating and managing the intellectual
output (publications and IP) of SPARC
Coordinating with SPARC Liaison Cell in MHRD
to resolve all issues that Nodal Institutes are
unable to resolve.
Website: http://www.sparc.iitkgp.ac.in
Role of Institute
Coordinator
(SPOC)
All Eligible Institutes MUST
appoint one Institute SPARC
Coordinator who will act as
single point of contact (SPOC).
The SPOC will coordinate with the NC and NI and
intimate interested faculty members in their
Institute/ University about the Program
An Indian Faculty member who is interested to
submit a proposal has to first approach the
SPOC.
SPOC will evaluate the eligibility of the foreign
PI and if satisfied will approve the submission
of the proposal by creating a Login to the
Indian Faculty Member.
All funds to a particular Institute will be routed
through the SPOC.
The SPOC must attend any SPARC awareness
program arranged by NC/NI.
Budget and Funding Details (Faculty)
• Two visits by international faculty.
• Each visit of international faculty $5000 (max for travel
purposes including visa).
• Stay @333.33 dollar per person-day.
• For example, if two faculties are visiting separately for one
month each, maximum $5000 + $5000 for travel purposes, and
60 person-day for honorarium and stay. The total amount will
be $10000 (for travel) + $20000 (for honorarium and stay) =
$30000.
• For honorarium and stay maximum permissible amount is 240
person-day. For example, if two foreign faculties are staying
for 4 months each, budget will be calculated for 240 person-
day.
• For foreign scholar,s out of pocket allowance of Rs 12,000 per month subject to an
upper limit of Rs 2 lakhs over the duration of the project (applicable for n number
of scholar/visits).
• The student has to stay for a minimum period of 3 months.
• Two visits by Indian students.
• For each visit of an Indian student $2000 for travel purposes
• Stay @33.33 dollar per person-day. For example, if two students are visiting
separately for three months each, maximum $2000 + $2000 for their travel, and
180 person-day for honorarium and stay. The total amount will be $4000 (for
travel) + $6000 (for honorarium and stay) = $10000.
• Maximum 3L is permitted for n number of workshops.
• Overhead and contingency expenses of up to 20% of the sum cost of other items
or Rs 15L (whichever is less) for accessories, consumables, chemicals, video
recording, field work, documentation, local travel in India, contingencies,
institutional costs, miscellaneous, etc.
Budget and Funding Details (Students & Others)
National Coordinator (IIT Kharagpur)
• Requests the head of the Indian institutes to nominate
someone as the local institute coordinator
• Assign the nominated person as institute coordinator in PMS
Institute Coordinator
• Log in to PMS with the email and password ( or system generated
One Time Password for the first time)
• Invite PI from the his/her institute
Principal Investigator (PI)
• Log in to PMS with the email and password (or system generated
One Time Password for the first time)
• Prepare the proposal and submit for further processing
Foreign PI
• On submission of the proposal, the foreign PI will receive an email
requesting his/her consent
• The foreign PI clicks on the link in the email to give the consent
Process for Proposal Submission
Institute Coordinator
• Accepts the submitted proposal in PMS. Only accepted
proposals will be considered for further processinghttp://www.sparc.iitkgp.ac.in
Invitation to Principal Investigator by Institute Coordinator
Step 2: Click on “Add PI” button
Step1: Login and click on Add
Principal Investigator
Step 3: Enter email id of the principal investigator. Enter
his/her name and click on “Add”. The “Resend Email”
option can be used to resend the invitation email to the PI.
Website: http://www.sparc.iitkgp.ac.in
Proposal Submission by Principal Investigator
Step 1: Login and click on “Submit Proposal”
Step 2: Click on “New Proposal” for creating a new proposal. “Edit” option
can be used for updating already created proposal. After submission,
“Edit” option will be replaced by “View”. The “Proposal Doc” option will be
available throughout the submission process. The PI can view the
draft/final copy of the proposal document using this button.
Step 3: Enter the details in “Title Page”
and click on “Save and Next”. The other
sections will be activated after saving
details of title page. All sections are
mandatory except “Project Personnel”.
Website: http://www.sparc.iitkgp.ac.in
Step 4: Enter the details of Indian PI and Co-PIs
and click on “Save and Next”. You can also add
more than one Indian Co-PI.
Step 5: Enter the details of International PI and
Co-PIs and click on “Save and Next”. You can also
add more than one International Co-PI.
Proposal Submission by Principal Investigator (contd.)
Website: http://www.sparc.iitkgp.ac.in
Step 6: Enter project personnel details (if applicable or available) and click on the “Save and Next” button.
You can add details of multiple personnel also. Alternately you can click on the “Skip” button.
Step 7: Enter budget details
and click on “Save and Next”
Step 8: Enter expertise details.
Proposal Submission by Principal Investigator (contd.)
Website: http://www.sparc.iitkgp.ac.in
Step 9: Upload supporting documents. The
documents with star marks are mandatory.
Step 10: Please check the checkbox to
accept the terms and condition and submit
the proposal by clicking on the “Final Submit”
button. The drafted proposal can be
downloaded using “Preview Proposal”
button. On submission, the system will send
a mail to the international PI which contains a
request for giving consent.
Proposal Submission by Principal Investigator (contd.)
Website: http://www.sparc.iitkgp.ac.in
Consent by International PI
The international PI can give his/her consent by either clicking on the
link or opening the link in a browser. The international PI can
download the submitted proposal from that link as well. The consent
will be recorded once he/she clicks on the “Accept button”.
Website: http://www.sparc.iitkgp.ac.in
Acceptance by Institute Coordinator
Step 1: Click on “Accept Proposal”. Step 2: The list will show all proposals submitted by the
PI of the Institute. The institute coordinator can also
download the proposals. The institute coordinator can
accept the proposals (by clicking on the “Accept” button)
once the consent is given by the International PI.
Website: http://www.sparc.iitkgp.ac.in
Statistics
Phase I
After reviewing of all
the proposals by
Thrust Area Chair,
Sub-domain Chair,
Reviewers and the
APEX committee
Total Submitted Proposal : 1188
Approved Proposals: 394
Indian Institutes : 78
International Institutes : 219
Total Budget : INR 251,09,21,000
Total Countries : 28
Website: http://www.sparc.iitkgp.ac.in
Country wise Number of Accepted Proposals
54
2
4
2
19
9
4
5
7
20
3
8
5
12
7
4
7
3
2
9
4
6
4
6
2
3
66
117
Australia
Austria
Belgium
Brazil
Canada
China
Denmark
Finland
France
Germany
Hong Kong
Israel
Italy
Japan
Netherlands
New Zealand
Norway
Portugal
Russia
Singapore
South Africa
South Korea
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Taiwan
United Kingdom
United States of…
Thrust Area wise Number of Accepted Proposals
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
94 87104
69
40
Thrust Area
Pro
posa
l Count
Sub-domain wise Number of
Accepted Proposals
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50
Advanced Functional and Meta Materials
Advanced Manufacturing
Advanced Sensors, Electronics and Communication
Affordable Health Care
Agricultural and Food Sustainability
Applied and Interdisciplinary Sciences
Artificial Intelligence and Cognitive Science
Basic Sciences - Physical Sc., Chemical Sc., Biological Sc.
Computational and Mathemetical Science
Design Innovation
Digital Humanities
Earth, Atmosphere and Environmental Science
Energy and Water Sustanibility
Future of Earth: Green and Renewable Technologies
Humanities and Social Sciences
Infectious Diseases & Clinical Research
Law and Society
Nano, Biotechnology and Applications
River, Ocean, Aviation and Space Management Technologies
Robotics and Embedded Systems
Science & Heritage
Technologies for Forensics, Security and Safety
Technologies for Rural and Women Empowerment
Technologies for Swachh Bharat
Technology Enhanced Education and Learning (including…
Transportation and Smart Infrastructure
Website: www.sparc.iitkgp.ac.in
Contact: [email protected]
Ministry of Human Resource Development
Government of India
Dr. N. Saravana Kumar
Joint Secretary (ICC), SPARC Liaison Cell
NATIONAL COORDINATING INSTITUTE
Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur
ContactSPARC cell
Coordinating Institute
Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur
Kharagpur 721302
West Bengal, INDIA
Email: [email protected]
Website: http://www.sparc.iitkgp.ac.in
Prof. Sriman Kumar Bhattacharyya
Director (officiating), IIT Kharagpur
Email: [email protected]
Prof. Adrijit Goswami
National Coordinator, IIT Kharagpur
Email: [email protected]
Thank you