Université Paris-Saclay strengthens its strategic cooperation with India: two major partnerships signed
On the occasion of the state visit of the President of the French Republic to India, Université Paris-Saclay showcased its international influence by signing two partnerships with world-class Indian higher education institutions and deploying a university delegation to strengthen its collaborations in this strategic region.
From 16 to 20 February 2026, New Delhi is hosting the fourth Global Summit on Artificial Intelligence, bringing together more than 100 countries and nearly 35 heads of state or government, including the President of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron. His state visit is part of the 2026 Franco-Indian Year of Innovation and the High-Level University and Scientific Meetings (RUSH) on the future of cooperation between the two countries, organised by the French Embassy at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi’s main hospital and research centre, on 18 and 19 February.
Université Paris-Saclay is represented by Rachid Bennacer, vice-president for research, Sciences and Engineering; Frédéric Pascal, vice-president for Artificial Intelligence and director of DataIA, the university’s research and training institute in artificial intelligence; and Romain Soubeyran, chief executive officer of CentraleSupélec, one of the university’s four grandes écoles, with a decade of scientific and educational partnerships with India. Other members of the delegation include Lucas Tourny, executive director of DataIA; Didier Clouteau, vice-president of CentraleSupélec’s board of directors; and Alena Bogdanova, project and international partnership officer at the Directorate of International and European Relations of Université Paris-Saclay.
The delegation aims to strengthen strategic partnerships with IIT Bombay, a world leader in engineering and fundamental sciences, and BITS Pilani, a leading Indian university in innovation, technological education, engineering, and entrepreneurship, as well as to develop targeted collaborations in science, AI, and engineering.
On 18 February, Rachid Bennacer signed an agreement on bilateral student exchanges with Milind Atrey, deputy director for research at IIT Bombay, in the presence of the President of the French Republic. Université Paris-Saclay and IIT Bombay, both ranked among the world’s leading institutions in science and technology, share a common commitment to academic excellence. This student exchange agreement represents a decisive step in strengthening their partnership. It will facilitate student mobility, cultural exchanges, the development of joint projects, and the enhancement of strategic scientific collaborations, particularly in the fields of chemistry and energy.
Romain Soubeyran also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on behalf of Université Paris-Saclay with V. Ramgopal Rao, president of the Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani (BITS Pilani), a private institution ranked among the most prestigious Indian universities in science and technology. This MoU builds on the relationship established by CentraleSupélec with the institute, notably marked by the launch in August 2025 of a four-year English-taught bachelor’s programme in Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence.
This partnership with Université Paris-Saclay broadens the scope of collaboration, particularly in research, to cover not only AI but all areas of engineering sciences, computer science, applied mathematics, pharmacy, health and environmental health sciences, biotechnology, chemistry, as well as the humanities.
Université Paris-Saclay welcomes this strengthened cooperation with India, a strategic partner for France, both in terms of student mobility and the development of high-level scientific and technological collaborations.
As part of the 2026 Franco-Indian Year of Innovation, a delegation of twelve faculty researchers from Université Paris-Saclay visited Mumbai from 19 to 23 January 2026 to strengthen cooperation with the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT Bombay). This mission followed the Memorandum of Understanding signed in March 2025 and included two workshops endorsed by the French Embassy, focused on chemistry and energy sustainability. These meetings helped identify priority areas for collaboration in research, innovation, and education, notably on advanced batteries, photovoltaics, and sustainable chemistry, paving the way for joint projects and doctoral and postdoctoral mobility between the two institutions.
