India and UK launch Ramanujan Junior Researchers Programme to boost scientific collaboration

India and the United Kingdom have unveiled a new fellowship program designed to strengthen scientific collaboration and nurture emerging talent in mathematics and physics.

The initiative, called the Ramanujan Junior Researchers Programme, will allow young Indian scientists to conduct research alongside their British counterparts at the London Institute for Mathematical Sciences (LIMS).

Supported by India’s Department of Science and Technology (DST), the program was announced following UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s visit to India.

Inspired by the partnership between Indian mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan and British scholar G H Hardy in 1913, the initiative aims to build a modern bridge for academic exchange between the two nations.

In the first phase, the DST will select up to six PhD students from the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR).

These “Ramanujan Junior Visitors” will spend several months at LIMS in London’s Mayfair, attending seminars and collaborating on advanced research projects.

The second phase will introduce “Ramanujan Junior Fellowships,” opening opportunities for early-career researchers across India.

These positions will support three-year, full-time research assignments at LIMS, offering hands-on collaboration with British scientists in cutting-edge areas of mathematics and physics.

“Our Ramanujan Junior Researchers programme will act as a bridge for the exchange of talents between two science superpowers,” said Dr Thomas Fink, Director of LIMS. “The work Ramanujan did with Hardy transformed the mathematical sciences.”

The initiative received strong backing from the Indian High Commissioner to the UK, Vikram Doraiswami, and Professor Krishnaswamy Vijay Raghavan, former Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India.

Doraiswami said, “The story of Hardy and Ramanujan reminds us that science advances not through isolation, but through friendship and dialogue.”

Located within the historic Royal Institution, the London Institute for Mathematical Sciences has long been associated with major scientific discoveries, from new elements to breakthroughs in electromagnetism.

The new partnership will give young Indian researchers access to a world-class academic environment and foster cross-border innovation.

By naming the program after Ramanujan, both countries are honoring a legacy of collaboration that reshaped modern mathematics.

The scholars chosen under the scheme will gain exposure to high-level theoretical research and bring new insights back to India’s growing scientific ecosystem.

The first group of visiting researchers will serve as a test case for the program, setting the groundwork for broader exchanges through the upcoming Junior Fellowships.

Over time, the initiative is expected to deepen India-UK cooperation in the sciences, enhance India’s capacity for advanced theoretical research, and strengthen its presence on the global scientific stage.

The Ramanujan Junior Researchers Programme stands as a tribute to intellectual partnership and a forward-looking step toward cultivating the next generation of global scientific leaders.