IIT Kanpur Partners with DRDO to Establish Industry-Academia Centre of Excellence

IIT Kanpur and DRDO join forces to establish the DRDO-Industry-Academia Centre of Excellence, dedicated to interdisciplinary research in next-generation defence technologies. Get details here 

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur, in partnership with DRDO, has inaugurated a DRDO-Industry-Academia Centre of Excellence (DIA CoE) on its campus for interdisciplinary research in cutting-edge defence technologies. This initiative aligns with DRDO's strategy of establishing DIA CoEs in prominent academic institutions nationwide, fostering a conducive ecosystem for technology development. 

Through the collaboration of seasoned faculty, talented scholars, and DRDO scientists, the centre aims to drive innovation in defence technology within the academic sphere. Sanjay Tandon, former director of the Institute of Technology Management at Mussoorie, serves as the Director of DIA CoE at IIT Kanpur, overseeing its strategic initiative and collaborative endeavours. 

DRDO-Industry-Academia Centre of Excellence

The newly established centre will lead targeted research in several identified research and development areas, including Printing on Flexible Substrates for creating devices and systems utilizing thin films for strategic purposes; Advanced Nanomaterials to make essential contributions to material selection and design; Accelerated Material Design and Development to minimize the need for physical trial experiments by utilizing high throughput experimentation for optimal solutions; High Energy Materials to specialize in modelling high-performance explosives and predicting the performance of metalized explosives; and Bio-Engineering to innovate technologies for various applications, from detecting hazardous agents to promoting wound healing.

The journey of the establishment of DIA CoE at IIT Kanpur started in 2022 through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed during Def-Expo-2022 at Gandhinagar. The DIA CoE at IIT Kanpur has been jointly inaugurated by Dr. Samir V Kamat, Secretary, Department of Defence R&D and Chairman, DRDO, and Prof. Manindra Agarwal, Director, IIT Kanpur, in the presence of Dr. Subrata Rakshit, DS & Director General (Technology Management), Prof. Tarun Gupta, Dean, R&D, IIT Kanpur, Sanjay Tandon, Director DIA CoE at IIT Kanpur, Prof Kantesh Balani, PI DIA CoE IITK, Shri LC Mangal, OS & Director DEAL, Dr. Mayank Dwivedi, OS & Director DMSRDE, and Dr. N Ranjana, OS & Director, Futuristic Technology Management.

Prof. Manindra Agrawal, Director of IIT Kanpur said, “With the changing times, the need for advancement of technology in defence sector is more than ever to become Atmanirbhar Bharat in true sense of the word. For this, DRDO, Academia and Industry must join hands together. The establishment of Industry Academia Centres of Excellence by DRDO is an apt step in this direction. With the strong R&D expertise and state-of-the-art facilities in flexible electronics, nanomaterials, materials science and engineering, high energy, and bioengineering, IIT Kanpur is well poised to contribute to this collaborative effort. I extend hearty congratulations to the entire team and wish all the success to DIA CoE IIT Kanpur.”

Dr. Samir V Kamat, Secretary Dept of Def R&D and Chairman DRDO, said, “The Centre will pave the path for indigenisation of the various strategic technologies in the long-term, making the defence sector self-reliant and sustainable. This will accelerate the development of new materials for futuristic defence systems, which may otherwise have required 10-15 years”.

Dr. Subrata Rakshit, Director General Technology Management, DRDO, said, “DIA CoEs established in 15 academic institutes will serve as Centres for R&D to address the future needs of Defence. They will serve to synergize the domain knowledge of DRDO Scientists, the research capacities inherent in our premium academic institutions and the drive of our industries to commercialize emerging home-grown defence technologies.”

Dr. N Ranjana, Director DFTM, DRDO, said, “Long-term research in the defence technology isn’t about quick fixes, but about planting seeds for future security. It’s about investing in advancements that could be critical deterrents and lifesaving tools of tomorrow.”

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