Historic MoU signed between IIT Ropar and Army Training Command
Bahadurjeet Singh/ Rupnagar
It was a momentous day for the entire IIT Ropar fraternity and Army Training Command (ARTRAC) , Indian Army for laying the ground for a long-term symbiotic relationship for Academic & Research Cooperation. An MoU was signed by both the organizations, under the visionary leadership Professor Rajeev Ahuja, Director, IIT Ropar and Lt Gen S.S Mahal, PVSM, VSM, General Officer Commanding –in-Chief of the Army Training Command (ARTRAC), with a primary objective of setting up a joint “Centre of Excellence” for Studies & Applied Research in Defence & Security at IIT Ropar premises.
As envisaged in the MoU, IIT Ropar and the Indian Army, through ARTRAC jointly, will establish a “Centre of Excellence” for Studies & Applied Research in Defence & Security at IIT Ropar with the aim of leveraging IIT Ropar’s technical expertise and ARTRAC’s operational expertise in advanced materials and manufacturing, design & development of deep learning algorithms, multipath and wireless networks, IoT, Data transmission tools, Remote sensing and forecasting, Speech recognition, Natural Language processing, Computer vision, Image processing, Cyber security, security analytics and authentication, to name a few areas
IIT Ropar will also curate training programs as exchange of information on educational programmes for security practitioners of the armed forces, CAPF (Central Armed Police Forces) , intelligence agencies and State Police Forces run by IIT Ropar as part of its on-campus and off-campus programmes on ‘Research and Innovation’.
ARTRAC would sponsor Officers to undergo on-campus and off-campus educational programmes; Collaborative Research and Innovation will be done in areas of mutual interest in AI & ML, Management, and Social Sciences; visits by Faculty and Students of IIT Ropar will be undertaken to Army establishments to better understand educational, research and technology needs of the Army and visits by Army officers to IIT Ropar to engage in Research and Innovation.
Professor Rajeev Ahuja, while signing the MoU said, “IIT, Ropar has the best of infrastructure and young and dynamic faculty, and we are ready to set up this center in co-operation with the Army& will establish CoE at IIT Ropar campus, which will provide a platform to foster and promote several forms of initiatives including collaborative research, formal education of Army officers, short-term training, and short visits(exchange programs) by personnel from IIT Ropar and Army. The CoE will be named “Centre of Excellence for Studies & Applied Research in Defence and Security”.
The “Centre of Excellence” at IIT Ropar thus established will focus on emerging areas of research & technology, including Information Warfare or Security (Quad Copters and Drones, Medium and Light Weaponery, Missile Technologies, Body Armour, Force Survivability, Hypersonic Applications, Energy directed weapons etc.) ; Wireless Communication; Robotics and Automation; Tracking /Surveillance, Underwater Acoustics and Communication; Chemical storage, handling, transport, and disposal; Environment and Energy system technologies; Supply Chain Management; Communication skills, Soft Skills, and many other fields in the larger domain of Defence and Security.
Lt Gen S.S Mahal, PVSM, VSM, General Officer Commanding –in-Chief of the Army Training Command (ARTRAC), Shimla exchanged the signed MoU with Professor Rajeev Ahuja, Director, IIT Ropar. The Army Commander expounded on his vision for the future of the Armed Forces and role of technology in futuristic warfare. He was very confident that a large segment of officers shall engage in research and PG studies on well-defined projects, at IIT Ropar. He made notable mention of the unprecedented progression made under the dynamic leadership and guidance of Professor Rajeev Ahuja, Director, IIT Ropar.
Lt. Gen. (Dr.) Subrata Saha, PVSM, UYSM, YSM, VSM (Retd), former Member of the National Security Advisory Board attended the ceremony virtually, and said, “This historic MoU will help both the parties to achieve a better convergence of strategic vision, operational requirements and technological expertise for the benefit of both organizations and the country at large.”
Historic MoU signed between IIT Ropar and Army Training Command . During the ceremony Dr. Atharva Poundarik, Chairperson, Industry and Corporate Relations, Faculty-in-Charge IIT Ropar – TBIF& faculty, IIT Ropar, Col. Prabir Sengupta, Adjunct Faculty, IIT Ropar, Deans, HoD’s and faculty were present.
December 6,2022
