IIT Ropar to award MTech Defence Technology degrees to Indian Army officers

The IIT-Ropar will award MTech degrees in Defence Technology to officers of the Indian Army under a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) with Army Air Defence College, Gopalpur. The agreement was signed by Prof Rajeev Ahuja, Director, IIT-Ropar, and Lt Gen Amit Rao, Commandant, Army Air Defence College, Gopalpur, an official statement said on Thursday.

According to the statement, the agreement builds on the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for Academic and Research Cooperation signed between Army Training Command, Integrated Headquarters of the Ministry of Defence (Army), and IIT-Ropar in December 2022. As per the agreement, Army officers on the Long Air Defence Course will receive formal accreditation through the MTech programme at IIT-Ropar, with faculty members nominated as mentors to guide their dissertations and research projects.

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Officers to access IIT's infrastructure

The officers will also get access to the institute's laboratories and infrastructure, subject to prior approval, along with seminars and lectures conducted by IIT-Ropar faculty in both online and offline mode. Both institutions have further agreed to jointly develop technological knowledge in areas of mutual interest, strengthening the academic and research partnership between the two organisations.

Speaking on the occasion, IIT-Ropar Director Ahuja said, "This agreement is a significant step in our continuing engagement with the Indian Army. Our faculty and infrastructure are now directly contributing to the technical education of officers who serve on the frontlines of our national defence. We look forward to deepening this collaboration in the years ahead."

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Lt Gen Surinder Singh Mahal, Managing Director, IIT-Ropar Defence Research and Innovation Foundation, and Brigadier Rohit Das were also present on the occasion. IIT-Ropar has been working closely with the Indian Army on academic and research cooperation since the signing of the MoU in December 2022. The institute's Defence Research and Innovation Foundation has been central to strengthening this partnership.