BITS Pilani on Thursday, January 11, announced the launch of the School of Interdisciplinary Research and Entrepreneurship (SIRE). Interested candidates can apply for the PhD drive before February 15. The main goal of SIRE is to create a special environment where people from diversified academic areas work together to solve difficult problems through teamwork and a mix of different kinds of research. The primary activity of SIRE would be to offer various interdisciplinary PhD programme, including the PhD DRIVE programme. In addition, the entity will also manage existing interdisciplinary research and innovation programmes such as CDRF, PhD programmes under various centres of excellence (CoE), SPARKLE, SOLVE, etc. This department at BITS Pilani will be headed by Prof. Hitesh Datt Mathur. Currently, BITS Pilani has a pool of around 75 PhD scholars, with plans for recruiting additional 30 PhD scholars by March 2024 under PhD DRIVE scheme. In its initial phase, SIRE is set to welcome close to a hundred scholars into its cohort, creating a vibrant and collaborative research community. SIRE will also develop various Masters and minor programmes, emphasising the interdisciplinary nature of the School.
