The shift to low-carbon electricity isn’t just about inventing new technologies - it’s about integrating them effectively into existing power systems. Challenges like large-scale renewable energy adoption, electric vehicle (EV) charging, and resilient grids span continents. Addressing them requires international collaboration between academia and industry.
Recently, UQ Electrical and Energy Engineering expert Professor Tapan Saha, a specialist in large-scale renewable energy integration, visited India with his postdoctoral fellow, Dr. Ramesh Bonu. Over two weeks, they delivered a short course and collaborative workshops at the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) in Kanpur and Kharagpur.
“This partnership allows us to combine expertise from Australia and India to tackle large-scale renewable energy challenges and share lessons learned from projects in Australia,” said Professor Saha.
“It strengthens long-term research collaboration and supports practical solutions for the energy transition.”
The UQ–IIT partnership, supported by the Scheme for Promotion of Academic and Research Collaboration (SPARC), goes beyond knowledge exchange. It includes student and faculty visits, joint research, and collaboration on renewable integration, microgrids, EV systems, and cyber-resilient energy networks.
“Our students and researchers gain access to international expertise and explore practical insights into renewable energy integration and modern grid technologies,” said Professor Prabodh Bajpai from IIT Kanpur.
“This knowledge sharing is critical for India’s energy future.”
“This collaboration helps translate advanced research into practical grid applications, while giving our students and researchers global perspectives on building resilient, renewable-ready power systems,” said Professor A. K. Pradhan from IIT Kharagpur.
During the visit, participants focused on topics such as large-scale solar and wind farms, microgrid operation, vehicle-to-grid integration, power-electronics-dominated networks, and grid-scale storage.
The collaboration also featured the Indo-Australian Workshop on Efficient Energy Management of Grid-Integrated Systems at IIT Kharagpur, where faculty, students, and industry experts explored strategies for efficient, resilient, and scalable energy systems.
Joint scholarships and grants, including the AISRF and Maitree Scholarship, continue to support talented students and researchers to build skills, foster industry connections, and strengthen long-term collaborative research.
