Students and faculty members of Indian Institute of Technology-Patna would be able to visit University of Hartford in the US over the next three years for research work.

The premier tech institute in the Bihar capital entered into a three-year academic tie-up with the Connecticut-based university last month after IIT-Patna director A.K. Bhowmick visited the US.

“Collaboration in research and exchange of students and faculty is the main focus of the tie-up,” Bhowmick told The Telegraph. “Students from IIT-Patna will visit the University of Hartford to study new engineering topics and conduct research. There would also be exchange of faculty.”

He added: “Faculty from the American university would come to our institute and exchange information about the latest technologies and developments in their areas of specialisation. It would benefit our students and teachers.”

The American varsity offers more than 80 undergraduate and 28 postgraduate degrees.

The IIT-Patna already has tie-ups with a number of foreign universities, including National University of Singapore, University of Houston, Texas, and Louisiana State University in the USA and University of New South Wales, Australia.

Besides a new tie-up, IIT-Patna also has a new chairperson for its board of governors. Information technology expert Ajai Chowdhry has been appointed to the post.

The post was vacant for 10 months after former Indian Space Research Organisation chairperson G. Madhavan Nair stepped down.

Chowdhry is one of the founders of IT major HCL Infosystems and has been credited with introducing new technology in the company over the past three decades. He has also won many laurels, including Padma Bhushan in 2011.

“IIT-Patna will grow with the appointment of the new chairperson,” said director Bhowmick.