Research, to be relevant, needs to be increasingly international in outlook. IIT Madras is at the forefront in this context having Joint Ph.D. programmes with 20 world-class institutions. Opportunities to carry out Joint Ph.D. with the Foreign institutions exist after enrolling into the Ph.D. programme.
Joint M.S. programmes are also on the anvil. In these, a Research Scholar enrolled at IIT Madras will be co-guided by faculty at two partner Universities, and will be required to spend a minimum period at the partner University during which period financial support will be provided by the host. Alumni funding will be applied towards the associated expenses of the scholar. The final degree will be awarded as a single certificate (e.g., programmes with NUS and NTU, Singapore) or as two certificates that cross-reference - such as University of Melbourne, Australia and RWTH Aachen University, Germany. This greatly enhances the global employability of the graduate.
Joint projects of great scope, co-authored papers of high impact and co-filed patents of high value are other positive outcomes realized in such cross-boundary collaborations.