The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Ropar has signed an agreement with the Army Training Command, Indian Army for setting up a joint Center of Excellence for Studies and Applied Research in Defence and Security at IIT Ropar. The agreement has been signed between Professor Rajeev Ahuja, Director, IIT Ropar and Lieutenant General SS Mahal, PVSM, VSM General Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Army Training Command (ARTRAC).

As per the PTI reports, the CoE will be set up with an aim to leverage IIT Ropar's technical expertise and ARTRAC's operational expertise in advanced materials and manufacturing, design and development of deep learning algorithms, multipath and wireless networks, data transmission tools, remote sensing and forecasting, cyber security and some other areas, according to a statement issued by IIT Ropar.

IIT Ropar will also curate training programmes as exchange of information on educational programmes for security practitioners of the armed forces, Central Armed Police Forces, intelligence agencies and state police forces run by it as part of its on-campus and off-campus programmes on research and innovation, it said.

"A historic agreement signed between IIT Ropar and ARTRAC, Indian Army today for setting up a joint Center of Excellence for Studies and Applied Research in Defence and Security at IIT Ropar. Professor Rajeev Ahuja, Director, IIT Ropar and Lieutenant General SS Mahal, PVSM, VSM, GOC-in-ARTRAC signed the agreement," IIT Ropar said in a tweet.

The ARTRAC will sponsor officers to undergo on-campus and off-campus educational programmes. Collaborative research and innovation will be done in areas of mutual interest in management, and social sciences and visits by faculty and students of IIT Ropar will be undertaken to Army establishments to better understand educational, research and technology needs of the Army and visits by Army officers to IIT Ropar to engage in research and innovation, it said.

Mr Ahuja, while signing the agreement, said, "IIT, Ropar has the best of infrastructure and young and dynamic faculty, and we are ready to set up this centre in cooperation with the Army and will establish CoE at IIT Ropar campus, which will provide a platform to foster and promote several forms of initiatives including collaborative research, formal education of Army officers, short-term training, and short visits (exchange programmes) by personnel from IIT Ropar and Army.

The CoE will be named 'Centre of Excellence for Studies & Applied Research in Defence and Security.' The CoE will focus on emerging areas of research and technology, including Information Warfare or Security (Quadcopters and Drones, Medium and Light Weaponry, Missile Technologies, Body Armour, Force Survivability, Hypersonic Applications, Energy directed weapons etc.), wireless communication; and many other fields in the larger domain of Defence and Security, the statement said.