A MoU signed by ISRO And NIT Rourkela for Setting Up a Space Technology Incubation

This S-TIC will serve the entire Eastern regions of our country

By- Kirti Reddy

An MoU has been signed by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and National Institute of Technology(NIT), Rourkela for setting up a Space Technology Incubation Centre(S-TIC).  The MoU was signed on Thursday after ISRO agreed to set up a Space Technology Incubation Centre(S-TIC) at NIT Rourkela. The S-TIC will boost the young academia with innovative research aptitude for carrying out research and product development in the field of space technology and applications. NIT Rourkela will provide its state of art laboratories, facilities and expert faculties to meet this purpose. It will also encourage, and promote capacity building, innovations and research activities in the Eastern Region of our country including Odisha, West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, and Andaman and Nicobar.  This collaboration with ISRO will open up new opportunities for research and development as well as space start-ups, an NIT, Rourkela official quoted.

This S-TIC will enable start-ups to build applications and products that could be used in future space missions and will provide an eminent chance for academia to collaborate with industries and contribute in Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan in the Space Technology sector initiated by ISRO. ISRO will provide an annual Grant-in-Aid of Rs. 2 crore for 2 years to NIT-R as seed money for setting up of the STIC which will be used for facility augmentation in order to carry out the research projects and product development taken from ISRO.

The purpose of setting up of six STIC in different parts of the country is to strengthen the industry academia ecosystem and encourage space technology start-ups, and that NIT Rourkela will provide the required infrastructure inside its academic campus.  mentioned the Director CBPO, ISRO HQ, Dr P V Venkitakrishnan, in a virtual meeting.

ISRO’s Chairman and Secretary Department of Space Dr. K Sivan congratulated NIT Rourkela and mentioned that the space technology related research and the products from the STIC will be utilised in future space missions which will help the nation build through Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan in space technology and applications domain.

“I heartily thank ISRO Chairman and Director from CBPO for selecting NIT Rourkela in the Eastern Region for setting up of S-TIC. NIT Rourkela’s sponsored research and industrial consultancy is one among the best in the country. ISRO”s support will further enhance our research infrastructure,” said, Director of NIT Rourkela, Prof Animesh Biswas. He also said that a dedicated space has been allocated for the establishment of Space Technology Incubation Centre in our Golden Jubilee Building of NIT Rourkela. At the Space Technology Incubation Centre new facilities are going to be created to carry out ISRO projects, development of products/prototypes.