DRDO Cell was established in IIT Hyderabad (IITH) in 2020-21, which was working as a satellite Centre for the RIC Chennai (IIT Madras Research park). The then Director of the RIC, Dr Natrajan, took the initiative to contact various Defence Laboratories in and around Hyderabad, collate the problem statements, and share them among IITH faculty members through the then Dean (R&D) Prof Sumohana, IITH, and that's how the ball started rolling in 2019-20. IITH Faculty and several DRDO Scientists put tireless efforts in first drafting the proposals to cater to the exact requirement of the Defense, and many proposals in varied areas ranging from Additive manufacturing to sensors design, Artificial intelligence to Space technologies were submitted, and 13 proposals worth of several Crores were sanctioned at the rocket speed. Understanding the importance of Additive Manufacturing to the Defence, one Centre for Additive Manufacturing was also proposed where faculty from various departments, from Mechanical to Materials science and Metallurgical Engineering, Biomedical to Electrical Engineering, participated. The currently sanctioned DIA COE will take this initiative to a higher level and enable IITH, DRDO, and Industry to contribute to nation-building.

Dr Samir V Kamat, Chairman DRDO & Secretary DDR&D, exchanged MoU with Prof B S Murty, Director, IITH, for setting up the DRDO Industry Academia Center of Excellence at IIT Hyderabad in the presence of Hon'ble Raksha Mantri Shri RajnathSingh during the largest Defence exhibition and conference DefExpo22, Gandhinagar on October 20, 2022.

Expressing his delight on this milestone, Prof B S Murty, Director, IITH, “Country’s defence is not only the responsibility of those who fight the battle on the border but also every Indian, who can be a significant contributor in their own way. IITH is committed to serving humanity through invention & Innovation in technology; DIA-CoE is another indication of the high Innovation Quotient we are known for. IITH is among a few IITs that has been trusted for its capabilities and adored this unique opportunity to serve the nation profoundly”. 

The DIA CoE will work on the following broad domains:

·        Ultra High-Temperature Materials for Hypersonic Vehicles

·        Artificial Intelligence for Missile and Missile Defence

·        Technologies for Space application

·        Adaptive Imaging and Image Processing

·        Nanoornithocopter technologies

·        Seeker and Homing Technologies

·        Additive Manufacturing