Stride Scheme
The University Grants Commission (UGC) has approved a new initiative, Scheme for Trans-Disciplinary Research for India’s Developing Economy (STRIDE), to support socially relevant, local need-based, nationally important and globally significant research projects.
- The UGC has set up an advisory committee under its Vice Chairman Bhushan Patwardhan, to oversee the entire scheme.
Components of the Scheme
- Component 1: The Scheme will provide for research capacity building in diverse disciplines by mentoring, nurturing and supporting young talents to innovate pragmatic solutions for local, regional, national and global problems. Grant available is upto Rs. 1 crore.
- Component 2: It will mainly focus on enhancing problem solving skills with the help of social innovation and action research to improve wellbeing of people and contribute for India’s developing economy. Grant upto Rs. 50 lakh to 1 crore is available for projects under this component.
- Component-3 will fund high impact research projects in the identified thrust areas in humanities and human sciences through national network of eminent scientists from leading institutions. Grant available under this component is upto Rs. 1 crore for one Higher Educational Institution and upto Rs. 5 crores for a multi institutional network.
Expected Benefits from the Scheme
- It will help strengthen transdisciplinary research culture in colleges and universities.
- Trans-disciplinary research is a team effort of investigators from different disciplines to create new conceptual, theoretical, methodological innovations that integrates and transcends beyond discipline-specific approaches to address a common problem.
- It goes beyond mere production of knowledge and extends to the practical use of the knowledge outside academic endeavour.
- It will provide opportunity to build multi sectoral linkages between university-government-community-industry for national development and wellbeing of people.
- It will give major impetus to high impact research in Humanities and Human Sciences.