IIT-M signs MoU with North-Western University

​Hyderabad: Indian Institute of Technology-Madras (IIT-M), has tied up with North-western University, U.S., for carrying out broad-based research collaboration in data science, web science, network science and computational social science. 

The Institutes signed an MoU recently to launch a joint project on the development of features for three web-based software platforms that focus on network-based approaches to facilitate team assembly and processes. Prof. Ravindra Gettu, Dean (Industrial Consultancy and Sponsored Research), IIT Madras, and Dr. Jonathan Holloway, Provost, Northwestern University, U.S., signed the MoU on behalf of their respective Institutions.

Speaking about the importance of this collaboration, Prof. B. Ravindran, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, IIT Madras, and one of the principal collaborators in this project, said, “The SONIC research group at North-western University is a world leader in the field of network science. This MoU will allow us to collaborate closely and work on problems that will have a global impact”

Further, Prof Ravindran added, “The Robert Bosch Centre for Data Science and AI at IIT Madras has a significant expertise in the area of network science and this collaboration is the first of our initiatives to reach out to international partners with similar interests”

The first project under this collaboration is a web-based platform called “My Dream Team” that focuses on assembling people with harmonizing skillsets together. Concretely, these platforms take advantage of the survey and the digital trace data generated through sources like enterprise social media platforms to help recommend potential teammates to an individual or make managerial decisions using features rooted in the theories of network science and machine learning. 

The principal collaborators on this project are: Prof. B Ravindran, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, IIT Madras, and Head, Robert Bosch Center for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence, IIT Madras; and IIT Madras Distinguished Alumnus Prof. Noshir Contractor, Jane S and William J White Professor of Behavioural Sciences and Director of the Science of Networks in Communities (SONIC) Research Group at North-western University.