Mangaluru: The National Institute of Technology Karnataka Surathkal and Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) are partnering to carryout advanced joint Research and Development activities in the area of Space Technology Applications. In this context, ISRO and NITK will be signing an MoU on January 3 and setting-up a Regional Academic Centre for Space (RAC-S) at NITK Surathkal to pursue advanced research in the areas of relevance to the future technological and programmatic needs of the Indian Space Programme.
Dr P V Venkitakrishnan Director, CBPO, ISRO Bengaluru and Prof. K. Umamaheswara Rao, Director, NITK Surathkal will sign the MoU.
A one-day workshop on “Space Technology Applications” will be held at NITK after the MoU signing ceremony. Four senior scientists from ISRO will be delivering lectures on the latest R&D work conducted in the ISRO as part of this workshop. They will also interact with faculty members and students of NITK with the aim of motivating the latter to participate actively in the research projects supported under this Regional Academic centre.
The Centre will act as a facilitator for the promotion of space technology activities in the southern region comprising the states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Kerala and Lakshadweep and will become an ambassador for the capacity building, awareness creation and R&D activities of the ISRO in the region. The activities of the RAC-S will be directed to maximize the use of the research potential, infrastructure, expertise and experience already existent in ISRO and NITK, Surathkal. The RAC-S will also facilitate and engage other institutes of excellence in the region to take part in capacity building, awareness creation and R&D activities related to Space Technology, Space Science and Space Applications.
The RAC-S will consist of faculty members and researchers from NITK Surathkal and visiting scientists and experts from the ISRO. The activities of the Centre will be guided by a Joint Policy and Management Committee (JPMC) consisting of top executives from the two organizations, which will plan the promotional activities including the research programmes of common interest and periodically review such research programmes and related activities.
It will also facilitate collaborative activities between the partner institutions of the southern states of Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Kerala and Lakshadweep. The ISRO will provide the necessary annual grant, as recommended by the JPMC, to the tune of Rs 2 crores per year for the conduct of R&D projects, promotional activities and administrative expenses.
The joint R&D activity will actively engage students of the NITK and partner institutions.
While B.Tech and M.Tech students will be engaged in carrying out one-year-long research projects, PhD students will be engaged in long term projects of 2 to 4 years relevant to the advancement of the space programme. Eligible students will also receive research fellowships during the project period.
Intellectual property rights generated as part of this research activity will be jointly owned by the ISRO and NITK.
