An exclusive chair for Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), to be set up within three months in IIT Madras, will be responsible for carrying out research in various areas related to aerospace technologies, providing technical consultancy, facilitating training programmes and addressing any other mutually agreed activities relevant to HAL.
“Through the chair, MTech and PhD programmes may be organised through external registration and all subjects taught through online method. HAL officers deputed for these courses are required to come to IIT Madras only for laboratory classes. Final examinations may also be conducted at HAL under the supervision of an authorised officer of HAL,” says Professor R Nagarajan, dean (international and alumni relations), IIT Madras. Similarly, specialised short-term courses may also be conducted for HAL officers through the chair, he added.
HAL and IITM signed a MoU last week to create a HAL chair at IIT campus with the aim of setting a ground for academic and research-based interactions. HAL will make a onetime payment of Rs. 1.5 crore for funding the chair to the corpus of the institute. Other expenses will be covered from the interest earned on this endowment.
HAL has identical tie-ups with IITs Roorkee, Kanpur, Mumbai and Kharagpur. “We expect the difference to be in the intensity of execution,” adds Prof Nagarajan.