ISRO-NIT Rourkela sign MoU to set up Space Technology Incubation Centre

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and National Institute of Technology(NIT), Rourkela have signed an MoU for setting up a Space Technology Incubation Centre(S-TIC).

The MoU was signed Thursday after ISRO agreed to set up a Space Technology Incubation Centre(S-TIC) at NIT Rourkela. This collaboration with ISRO will open up new opportunities for research and development as well as space startups, an NIT, Rourkela official said.

The S-TIC will nurture 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.

S-TIC at NIT Rourkela will facilitate, encourage and promote capacity building, innovations and research activities in the whole of the Eastern Region of our country comprising of Odisha, West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand and Andaman and Nicobar. This S-TIC will enable startups to build applications and products that could be used in future space missions, they said.

It will also offer a great opportunity 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 two years to NIT-R as seed money for setting up of the S-TIC. The seed money will be utilised for facility augmentation to carry out the research projects and product development taken from ISRO. NIT Rourkela will provide the required infrastructure inside its academic campus.

Director CBPO, ISRO HQ, Dr P V Venkitakrishnan, in his address in the virtual meeting said the purpose of setting up of six S-TIC in different parts of the country was to strengthen the industry academia ecosystem and encourage space technology startups.

Director of NIT Rourkela, Prof Animesh Biswas said "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."

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, he said.

Chairman, ISRO and Secretary Department of Space Dr K Sivan congratulated NIT Rourkela on this occasion. He also highlighted that the space technology related research and the products from the S-TIC will be utilised in future space missions and it will help nation building through Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan in space technology and applications domain.