IIT Ropar partners with Army Air Defence College to offer MTech degrees to officers

IIT Ropar has entered into an agreement with the Army Air Defence College, Gopalpur, to provide MTech degrees in Defence Technology to Indian Army officers enrolled in the Long Air Defence Course.

The Memorandum of Agreement was signed by IIT-Ropar Director Prof Rajeev Ahuja and Lt Gen Amit Rao, Commandant of the Army Air Defence College, according to an official statement.

The initiative will give officers formal postgraduate accreditation through IIT-Ropar’s MTech programme alongside their military training.

Under the arrangement, IIT-Ropar faculty members will be nominated as mentors for the officers’ dissertations and research projects.

The officers will also be able to use the institute’s laboratories and other infrastructure with prior approval and participate in IIT-Ropar seminars and lectures conducted both online and offline.

The agreement also provides for joint development of technological expertise in areas of mutual interest, expanding the scope of academic and research collaboration between the institute and the Army.

Speaking on the occasion, Prof 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."

Lt Gen Surinder Singh Mahal, Managing Director of the IIT-Ropar Defence Research and Innovation Foundation, and Brigadier Rohit Das were also present at the signing ceremony.

The latest agreement follows a Memorandum of Understanding signed in December 2022 between Army Training Command, Integrated Headquarters of the Ministry of Defence (Army), and IIT-Ropar for academic and research cooperation.

IIT-Ropar said its Defence Research and Innovation Foundation has been instrumental in advancing the collaboration.

The partnership now links military training with postgraduate education, research mentoring and access to IIT-Ropar’s technical resources for Army officers pursuing the Defence Technology programme.