Indian Institution of Technology (IIT) Jodhpur has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to set up a DRDO-Industry-Academia Centre of Excellence at IIT Jodhpur (DIA – COE, IIT Jodhpur) on Thursday. According to it, the agreement was exchanged between Santanu Chaudhary, director, IIT Jodhpur, and secretary, DRDO, at Gandhinagar in presence of Rajnath Singh, defence minister, Government of India.

“The MoU provides a significant opportunity to create an alliance between DRDO, IIT Jodhpur and industries to develop technology for making India self-reliant in defence technologies not only today but also to facilitate the development of futuristic technologies for the world, driven completely by the practical needs of the modern battlefield,” Chaudhary said.

The Centre of Excellence at IIT Jodhpur which is funded by DRDO will carry out directed research in verticals as identified jointly by both bodies. The research will be carried out by the faculty members and students of IIT Jodhpur in collaboration with different laboratories of DRDO as well as Industry and other academic/ research institutes, read the statement issued by the Institute.

Furthermore, the Centre of Excellence will primarily pursue directed research in the identified verticals including Desert Welfare Technologie, Futuristic Omni Mobility Systems, Artificial Intelligence for Information and Wargaming Technologies.

According to the press statement, the Centre will be headed by a Director who will be appointed by the Governing Council of the Centre which is Chaired by the Chairman DRDO and co-chaired by the Director, IIT Jodhpur.

Image source: Hindustan Times