IIT-Tiruchi, NIT-Puducherry, and Central varsity of T.N. chosen for collaborative research project with IIT-M

The Indian Institute of Information Technology - Tiruchi (IIIT-T), the Central University of Tamil Nadu (CUTN), and the National Institute of Technology – Puducherry (NITPY) are among the seven spoke institutions selected to collaborate with the Indian Institute of Technology – Madras (IIT-M) as the hub, in a collaborative research project on smart and sustainable manufacturing, under the Anusandhan National Research Foundation-Partnerships for Accelerated Innovation and Research (ANRF-PAIR) programme.

Bharathiar University (Coimbatore), Cochin University of Science and Technology, Doon University (Dehradun), and NIT Mizoram are the other spoke institutions in the ANRF-PAIR project, which falls under Category B.

The institutions will be collaborating on the research proposal titled ‘Industry 4.0 - Smart and Sustainable Manufacturing towards Clean Energy and Circular Economy’. An initial grant of ₹2.3 crore has been sanctioned for one year of collaborative activities.

“Such projects will help us transmit the learning of the higher education institutes to the industry, and eventually, to society,”  M. Krishnan, Vice-Chancellor, CUTN, told The Hindu.

He added that the Departments of Computer Science, Chemistry, Biotechnology, Microbiology, Physics, and Microbiology would be participating in the project.

The research would explore how to create convergence of physical and digital technologies using tools such as Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence, and robotics, among others.

A senior IIIT-T faculty member said that all the departments of the institution would be participating in the project. “We would be looking at the digital manufacturing, sensor development, and smart technologies for the research,” he said.