The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Exclusive centre to cater to needs of defence sector

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Saturday, Dec 06, 2008
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Exclusive centre to cater to needs of defence sector

Staff Reporter

Bangalore-based Altair Engineering Limited to lend its expertise to JNTU

AEL is currently executing several DRDO projects
Its engineers will work on time-bound R&D projects at CID

Ambitious programme: JNTU-Kakinada Registrar V. Ravindra (right) and AEL Chief Science Officer J.S. Rao (second from left) exchanging copies of an MoU in Kakinada on Friday. JNTU Vice-Chancellor Allam Appa Rao is at the centre.

Kakinada: The Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University, Kakinada, and the Bangalore-based Altair Engineering Limited (AEL) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for setting up a Centre of Innovation and Design (CID) to exclusively cater to the requirements of the defence sector. The CID will function under the Centre for Defence Studies (CDS).

Addressing media persons after exchanging copies of the MoU with JNTU (Kakinada) Registrar V. Ravindra on Friday, AEL Chief Science Officer J.S. Rao said his company was executing several projects for Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in diverse fields and was committed to lending its expertise to the joint research projects to be taken up at the CID.

Mr. Rao, who is also the adviser of nuclear engineering course launched by the JNTU recently, said the objective of the joint venture was to involve the bachelor, master and doctoral level students of JNTU in state-of-the-art industrial design and innovation processes, promote university-industry interaction and evolve doctoral level programmes to meet the country’s advanced design needs. AEL engineers would work on time-bound R&D projects at the CID and JNTU faculty would visit AEL work sites to acquaint themselves with the latest developments vis-À-vis innovation and designs.

The goal

Vice-Chancellor Allam Appa Rao said the JNTU and the AEL planned to initially develop certain software packages useful for the Defence industries with the ultimate goal of finding a place in the coveted list of DRDO partners. The AEL was associated with several projects of the DRDO like development of a prototype of light weight passenger aircraft made of composite materials. The JNTU would benefit from its partnership with AEL in such areas, and in due course acquire the capability to solely undertake advanced R&D projects. A main component of CID activities was conduct of short-term programmes for industry and academia.

JNTU Engineering College principal E.V. Prasad, vice-principal B. Prabhakar Rao and others were present.

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