Ashoka University is proud to announce its collaboration with International Centre for Theoretical Sciences (ICTS) of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, DAE, for its Meetings and Workshops Office. The collaboration is dedicated to advancing interdisciplinary collaboration and academic excellence. The engagement was formalised at ICTS, Bengaluru, yesterday, in the presence of Professor Rajesh Gopakumar, Director of ICTS, and Professor K VijayRaghavan, Chair of the Science Advisory Council, Ashoka University.
This collaboration will serve as a dynamic platform for hosting top-tier scientific conferences and workshops through an open call and proposal system. Scientists and researchers from across the globe will have the opportunity to apply, with selected proposals receiving support and resources to host high-impact academic events.
“The International Centre for Theoretical Sciences of TIFR has been at the national forefront, and among the international best, in its meetings and workshops programmes. These events have truly impacted the national and international intellectual landscape. Realising that the country needs many more such programmes across the sciences, Ashoka University is delighted to partner with the ICTS to enhance its own meetings and workshops office,” said Professor K Vijay Raghavan, Chair, Science Advisory Council, Ashoka University.
He added, “This partnership, which will encompass both intellectual and process-sharing collaborations, will benefit students and researchers everywhere. By working closely together with ICTS, we will also set an example of how we can be much more than the sum of our parts. We are all very excited about the formalisation of this partnership between Ashoka University and ICTS.”
Professor Rajesh Gopakumar remarked, “In the last fifteen-plus years, ICTS has been addressing the need for a curated set of international workshops, schools and discussion meetings on frontier research areas across science, so that India develops the necessary capacity and visibility. Such community-driven meetings play a catalytic role in creating new collaborations and fostering new ideas, often cutting across disciplines. Given the large and growing number of researchers across the country, it is clear we need many more such centres for such activities. We are therefore delighted to partner with Ashoka and applaud them for their vision in investing in such a Meetings and Workshops Office. I look forward to a mutually fruitful collaboration.”
In its inaugural year (2025–2026), the office will host two flagship 2-week workshops under the ICTS–Ashoka University partnership in January 2026 and July 2026 in Mathematical Sciences and Cosmology and Astroparticle Physics, respectively.
Professor Somak Raychaudhury, Vice-Chancellor, Ashoka University, said, “Through this partnership with ICTS, Ashoka University is building a global platform for rigorous scientific dialogue and discovery. The Meetings and Workshops collaboration with ICTS will not only strengthen our research ecosystem but also encourage the kind of cross-disciplinary collaboration essential to tackling today’s most complex problems.”
The Meetings and Workshops Office at Ashoka University is envisioned as a transformative space where scholars, students, and thought leaders can challenge boundaries, co-create knowledge, and mentor the next generation of thinkers. By promoting inclusivity, mentorship, and active participation, the Meetings and Workshops Office will enrich Ashoka’s open and welcoming tradition and make meaningful contributions to solving complex global challenges.
This initiative also reflects Ashoka University’s consistent efforts to advance the national research landscape through global collaborations. Recently, Ashoka University was also ranked among the top institutions in multiple global and national rankings. It featured in the QS World University Rankings 2025 with an overall global rank of 1201+, including notable placements in Sustainability (959) and Social and Environmental Impact (1001+). Domestically, Ashoka was ranked #1 in the IIRF Rankings 2025 in the categories of New Age Private Universities (Overall) and Private Universities Strong in Arts, Science, Research, and Humanities.
