IIT Bhubaneswar, Indian Army Partner for Emerging Defence Technologies

Strategic Insights -

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bhubaneswar has partnered with the Simulator Development Division (SDD) of the Indian Army for a five-year pact to collaborate on advanced research, training, and innovation in emerging defence technologies, including augmented reality, artificial intelligence, and robotics. The partnership aims to leverage academic and technological expertise to enhance defence capabilities, simulation-based training, and innovation-led applications. This collaboration will enable IIT Bhubaneswar students to gain practical exposure and internships with the SDD, while the SDD will have access to the university's Virtual and Augmented Reality Centre of Excellence (VARCOE) for collaborative projects in defence simulation and technology prototyping.

Key Takeaways:

  • The partnership between IIT Bhubaneswar and the SDD of the Indian Army is for a five-year period, enabling sustained collaboration and knowledge exchange in frontier areas of technology development and application.
  • The agreement focuses on emerging defence technologies, including augmented reality, artificial intelligence, and robotics.
  • The IIT Bhubaneswar will provide academic and research support through its Virtual and Augmented Reality Centre of Excellence (VARCOE) for collaborative projects in defence simulation and technology prototyping.
  • The SDD will provide practical exposure and facilitate collaborative projects, in addition to offering short-term training and certification programmes, internships for IIT students, and access to facilities.
  • Joint innovation initiatives such as hackathons and ideation challenges will also be a part of the partnership.
  • Brigadier G.S. Bedi, Commandant, SDD, Secunderabad, and Professor Dinakar Pasla, dean (Sponsored Research & Industrial Consultancy), IIT Bhubaneswar, signed the memorandum of understanding online.

Statistics:

  • The partnership is valid for five years.
  • The focus areas include augmented reality, virtual reality, artificial intelligence, and robotics.
  • Joint research, simulation-based training, and innovation-led applications are the primary objectives.
  • Short-term training and certification programmes will be conducted for IIT students.
  • Collaborative projects in defence simulation and technology prototyping will be a major component.

Sources:

  • "India Today" (2025)
  • Contify.com