A seven-member delegation of European life scientists led by Nobel laureate Sir Thim Hunt,

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would visit nine academic institutes across India during January 3-8 in Bangalore, Mumbai, New Delhi and Pune.

"We look forward to creating more opportunities for scientists in India to connect and collaborate with European researchers", said Maria Leptin, Director of European Molecular Biology Organisation (EMBO), leading the delegation.

"India's investment in research and infrastructure development is allowing scientific talent to flourish. This inaugural visit will connect Indian and European researchers and help to establish EMBO Global Exchange in India", Leptin said.

The visit would begin on January 3 at the 98th Indian Science Congress in Chennai, where Venki Ramakrishnan, Nobel Prize winning Indian-American researcher based in the UK, would join the delegation.

Two members of the delegation are invited speakers at the Congress: Venki Ramakrishnan and Tim Hunt. Other delegation members include Silvia Arber, Piet Borst, Maria Leptin, Vivek Malhotra and Benny Shilo.

Following meetings with Indian scientists during the 98th Indian Science Congress, the delegation would conduct a lecture tour to mark the initiation of activities in India by the EMBO Global Exchange programme.

EMBO Global Exchange operates bilaterally with lecture tours of Indian researchers to European academic institutes and Europeans to India.

"Scientific advances happen through vibrant collaborations, not in isolation. It is vital for researchers in India and Europe to make strong connections with each other for exchange of PhD students, post-doctoral researchers and senior scientists", said K VijayRaghvan from the National Centre for Biological Sciences, Tata Institute here, an associate member of EMBO.