An expert from the University of Ulster is to spearhead a major new research project into digital technology in the UK and India.

Professor Gerard Parr, an information communication technology and engineering specialist at the university, will co-lead a team of UK and Indian scientists and industrial engineers in a £9.2m research drive to ensure both nations reap the full benefits of the digital economy.

The five-year collaborations between the UK and Indian governments, universities and ICT experts will work to deliver next generation telecoms networks and services in both countries. This will include work on wireless sensor networks that could assist healthcare and early warning weather systems in rural areas.

The University of Ulster is the lead institution in a consortium of nine UK universities and five research Institutes in India.

They will conduct research through a new Centre of Excellence which is being established to focus on promoting the digital economy.

Prof Parr said: “Our joint India-UK team has worked extremely hard over the past two years.

“We have put together a consortium of international reputation and capability that will conduct leading research in telecommunications engineering and associated systems.

“Its aim is to make a step-change difference to the encouragement of value-added India-UK collaboration and to provide training opportunities for the next generation of research engineers and scientists dealing with applications, communications protocols and hardware.”

Professor Parr will co-lead the initiative with Professor Ashok Jhunjhunwala of the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras and Professor Nader Azarmi of BT Innovate at Adastral Park UK.

The project funding includes £5m from the Indian government’s science department and the Research Council UK’s digital economy programme. This is matched by an investment of over £4m from the consortium of academic and industry partners.