Infosys Foundation commits ₹30 cr to Chennai Mathematical Institute

Infosys Foundation, the corporate social responsibility (CSR) arm of Infosys, has set up a corpus of ₹30 crore for the Chennai Mathematical Institute (CMI).

The corpus will be used to promote education and research in mathematics by enhancing faculty compensation and supporting fellowship requirements for research students.

In addition, the grant will enable CMI to invite distinguished mathematicians from across the world to mentor students and boost the institute’s quality of research.

“Infosys and the Foundation are committed to enriching higher education and research across disciplines including mathematics and science. We also believe that motivated professors are key to encouraging students to push the realms in research. We are honoured that our contribution can help CMI to attract the best and the brightest teachers and students,” said Sudha Murty, Chairperson, Infosys Foundation, in a statement.

In recent years, CMI has attracted a number of young faculty members. It has also seen a welcome trend of students returning for postgraduate studies after gaining work experience.

The corpus from the Infosys Foundation will allow CMI to provide its faculty members with facilities such as housing. It will also help the institute to increase scholarships at the masters and doctoral levels to attract greater number of talented students.

“CMI has established itself as a center of excellence and the preferred destination for students who wish to pursue mathematics. The corpus created by Infosys Foundation will allow us to expand our teaching programs to other areas related to the mathematical sciences. It will also help us improve the quality and quantity of postgraduate teaching and research faculty,” the statement quoted Rajeeva Karandikar, Director, Chennai Mathematical Institute, as saying.

As part of its efforts to support research and increase public awareness of mathematics as an intellectual discipline, Infosys has undertaken various other initiatives.

These are aimed at building a strong talent pool of mathematicians and prepare them for exciting career opportunities in research and data analytics, the statement added.