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Strategic partnerships and collaborations help Lehigh University expand our teaching, research and service in new directions.

Lehigh has an institutional partnership with Ashoka University in Haryana. Our faculty, staff and students also have numerous collaborations with counterparts at Indian institutions.

Partnership Spotlight: Ashoka University

The partnership between Lehigh and Ashoka was formalized in December 2017 and renewed in June 2023. Ashoka University signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that laid the groundwork for the two institutions to establish new student exchange programs, create cross-institutional research opportunities, and expand entrepreneurial opportunities. The MOU calls for Lehigh and Ashoka to create study abroad and exchange opportunities for students at both schools in addition to opening up Lehigh’s innovative Mountaintop program to Ashoka undergraduates; to facilitate faculty exchanges on either a short-term or long-term basis; and to create joint research programs between the two institutions. In June of 2023, the two institutions established a Faculty Exchange Agreement as well as an Articulation Agreement that allows well-qualified Ashoka students the opportunity to apply early for master’s degrees in a few select programs and receive a tuition discount.

Ashoka University students have participated in Lehigh’s Mountaintop Summer Experience, a 10-week program in which an interdisciplinary team of students worked with faculty mentors on an open-ended research project that would have an impact on the world. Students from Ashoka have joined Lehigh for the past several years to participate in the Hatchery Student Idea Accelerator, a 5-week summer program from the Baker Institute for Entrepreneurship, Creativity, and Innovation in which the participants learn the entrepreneurial process – how to use design thinking to identify problems and potential solutions.

Collaborations

Lehigh academics are working with faculty from IIT Kharagpur, IIT Ropar, IIT Mumbai, IIT Delhi, and OP Jindal University to explore collaborative opportunities for research exchanges.

IIT-Kharagpur

The partnership between Lehigh and IIT-Kharagpur (IIT-KGP) was formalized on June 15, 2020. IIT-KGP signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that laid the groundwork for the two institutions to establish opportunities for joint research, joint/dual degree programs, exchange program for undergraduate and graduate students, faculty participation in seminars, academic meetings, and joint/bi-lateral workshops/symposia/conferences, and exchange of publications, academic materials and other information.

Ganesh Balasubramanian, P.C. Rossin Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Mechanics at Lehigh, is collaborating with Somnath Roy, Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering at IIT-KGP in the areas of data-informed computational engineering. They are working towards co-advising and mentoring doctoral students at IIT-KGP through joint-supervision.

IIT-Ropar

The research collaboration between Ganesh Balasubramanian, P.C. Rossin Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Mechanics at Lehigh, and Pratik Ray, Assistant Professor of Metallurgical and Materials Engineering at IIT-Ropar, is in the area of complex concentrated alloys. These advanced alloys are composed of multiple principal elements and possess remarkable mechanical properties applicable for aircraft structures, gas turbines, and power plant components. Currently, Professor Ray serves on the doctoral dissertation committee of two Ph.D. students at Lehigh advised by Professor Balasubramanian. The students are working in the areas of machine learning-guided alloy development for enhanced structural strength and on the oxidation resistance of these alloys for high-temperature applications. The collaboration has resulted in multiple journal papers.

The College of Education is working toward a collaboration with the newest partner in India, O.P. Jindal University.  The collaboration will involve the creation of a joint certificate program in School Counseling.

United Nations – UNESCO

Lehigh’s United Nations team is exploring opportunities for student internships and story-gathering campaigns with UNESCO MGIEP (Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for Peace and Sustainable Development) in India.