Keeping pace with the contemporary industry expectations and requirements, University of Petroleum and Energy Studies (UPES) in collaboration with Bosch Rexroth has set up a state-of-the-art 'Centre of Excellence in Automation Technology' at its campus in Dehradun. The Germany-based Bosch group is a leading supplier of technology and services in the areas of automotive industrial technology, consumer goods and building technologies and operates in India.
Member of the founding team of the University and director (Government relations and media affairs) Arun Dhand said that UPES and BOSCH Rexroth India limited (BRIN) signed a MoU in August last wherein BRIN not only committed to provide the latest equipment worth over Rs 6 crore at a concessional price towards the establishment of the centre but also undertook to impart requisite training to the faculty and staff of UPES including free of cost maintenance of the equipment for a period of three years.
BOSCH was desirous of assisting and partnering with an educational institute of repute in north India to set up a facility of not only training but also of research and development. UPES was chosen as a partner by them for establishing their very first 'Centre of Excellence' in India.
He further said that on the research and development side, this high end facility will provide students with the opportunity to convert new engineering ideas into applied technologies at the pilot scale. It will also help them re-engineer, redesign and refine the existing technologies. In times to come, this centre will also be taking an inclusive approach on the vocational front by supporting polytechnic and diploma programmes for transfer to technology and training.
Dhand said that Bosch have been operating in India since the past 60 years and now have 10 manufacturing sites and seven development and application centres in India which employ over 26,000 people generating a combined revenue of Rs 13,000 crore annually.
Bosch has been active in promoting Industry - Academia partnerships and has partnered with a few reputed higher educational institutes in Tamil Nadu and Gujarat to set up 'Centres of Competence' where the objective of the centre is to train man power in automation technologies.
The differential between the two being that the centre of excellence at UPES is not only equipped to provide training to students and professionals from the industry but has also been enabled to work towards research and development in the fields of Hydraulics, Pneumatics, Sensorics, Robotics, Mechatronics and PlC(Programmable logic Control systems).
This centre was inaugurated by the director, HR of ONGC, KS Jamestin. Jamestin complimented the management of the university by stating that UPES has carved a niche for itself in the area of energy studies within a few years. He also appreciated the yeomen services it has done to bring affordable education to this part of the country. He also congratulated UPES faculty and staff which have been instrumental in setting up this centre of excellence which included Dr Kamal Bansal, director (College of Engineering at UPES), Dr Deepak Kumar (lead Faculty member for this project), RK Tripathi, Roshan Kumar, Deepak Bhardwaj, Mukul Thapliyal and BRM Reddy.
In his advise to the Chancellor Dr SJ Chopra and the campus director Dr Shrihari, Jamestin said that UPES should now also think towards providing advantage of this facility to the industry not only within the State of Uttarakhand but other states of north India too for developmental technologies. The Germany-based Bosch group, which has been operating in India since 1953, has also been promoting the concept of Industry assisting and supporting good technical institutes for development and research.