IIT Delhi, France's Sorbonne University to offer joint Master's, PhD from 2026
IIT Delhi and Sorbonne University will start joint Master's and PhD programmes from 2026. The expansion broadens their partnership from healthcare to AI, robotics and materials science.
The Indian Institute of Technology Delhi and Sorbonne University France have expanded their strategic partnership with the launch of a joint Master's programme in Biological Science and a joint PhD programme from 2026, while broadening collaboration into emerging areas such as artificial intelligence, robotics and materials science.
The announcement marks the next phase of the institutions' academic partnership, which is anchored by the Franco-Indian Integrated Health Campus. The expanded collaboration aims to strengthen research, education, innovation and student mobility between India and France.
The development follows a visit by an IIT Delhi delegation, led by Director Rangan Banerjee, to Sorbonne University in June 2026, where both sides discussed widening cooperation beyond healthcare.
NEW PROGRAMMES FROM 2026
Under the expanded partnership, the two institutions will introduce:
- A joint Master's programme in Biological Science.
- A joint PhD programme.
- Two-way student mobility between India and France.
The programmes are expected to offer students access to academic resources, faculty expertise and research facilities at both institutions.
FOCUS SHIFTS TO EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES
While healthcare remains a central pillar of the collaboration, IIT Delhi and Sorbonne University will now work together in areas including:
- Artificial Intelligence
- Materials Science
- Informatics
- Computer Science
- Robotics
- Other interdisciplinary fields with societal and technological relevance
According to IIT Delhi, future plans also include expanding shared research infrastructure, increasing faculty and student exchanges, promoting co-supervised doctoral research, introducing more joint degree programmes, organising international schools and workshops, and undertaking collaborative research on global challenges.
Speaking on the partnership, Prof. Rangan Banerjee said the institutions have already begun joint Master's and PhD programmes with two-way student mobility under their healthcare collaboration.
"As we expand into emerging areas such as AI, sustainable technologies, materials science, and robotics, we envision creating a vibrant ecosystem that enables transformative research, talent development, and societal impact," he said.
The collaboration is centred around the Franco-Indian Integrated Health Campus, established as a platform for interdisciplinary education and research in healthcare.
The campus brings together expertise from engineering, medicine, life sciences, social sciences and digital technologies. According to IIT Delhi, it has already facilitated joint research projects, internships, faculty and student mobility, workshops and scientific exchanges.
The institutions said the expanded collaboration aligns with the broader India-France strategic partnership, which identifies education, research, innovation, health and digital technologies as key areas of cooperation.
The partnership also received recognition recently when French President Emmanuel Macron highlighted the IIT Delhi-Sorbonne collaboration during his address at the Bharat Innovates 2026 event, describing it as a flagship initiative in Indo-French scientific and educational cooperation.
The Indian Institute of Technology Delhi and Sorbonne University France have expanded their strategic partnership with the launch of a joint Master's programme in Biological Science and a joint PhD programme from 2026, while broadening collaboration into emerging areas such as artificial intelligence, robotics and materials science.
The announcement marks the next phase of the institutions' academic partnership, which is anchored by the Franco-Indian Integrated Health Campus. The expanded collaboration aims to strengthen research, education, innovation and student mobility between India and France.
The development follows a visit by an IIT Delhi delegation, led by Director Rangan Banerjee, to Sorbonne University in June 2026, where both sides discussed widening cooperation beyond healthcare.
NEW PROGRAMMES FROM 2026
Under the expanded partnership, the two institutions will introduce:
- A joint Master's programme in Biological Science.
- A joint PhD programme.
- Two-way student mobility between India and France.
The programmes are expected to offer students access to academic resources, faculty expertise and research facilities at both institutions.
FOCUS SHIFTS TO EMERGING TECHNOLOGIES
While healthcare remains a central pillar of the collaboration, IIT Delhi and Sorbonne University will now work together in areas including:
- Artificial Intelligence
- Materials Science
- Informatics
- Computer Science
- Robotics
- Other interdisciplinary fields with societal and technological relevance
According to IIT Delhi, future plans also include expanding shared research infrastructure, increasing faculty and student exchanges, promoting co-supervised doctoral research, introducing more joint degree programmes, organising international schools and workshops, and undertaking collaborative research on global challenges.
Speaking on the partnership, Prof. Rangan Banerjee said the institutions have already begun joint Master's and PhD programmes with two-way student mobility under their healthcare collaboration.
"As we expand into emerging areas such as AI, sustainable technologies, materials science, and robotics, we envision creating a vibrant ecosystem that enables transformative research, talent development, and societal impact," he said.
The collaboration is centred around the Franco-Indian Integrated Health Campus, established as a platform for interdisciplinary education and research in healthcare.
The campus brings together expertise from engineering, medicine, life sciences, social sciences and digital technologies. According to IIT Delhi, it has already facilitated joint research projects, internships, faculty and student mobility, workshops and scientific exchanges.
The institutions said the expanded collaboration aligns with the broader India-France strategic partnership, which identifies education, research, innovation, health and digital technologies as key areas of cooperation.
The partnership also received recognition recently when French President Emmanuel Macron highlighted the IIT Delhi-Sorbonne collaboration during his address at the Bharat Innovates 2026 event, describing it as a flagship initiative in Indo-French scientific and educational cooperation.
