Karnataka govt to set-up a Aerospace training centre with Dassault Systemes

The Karnataka Biotechnology & Information Technology Services (KBITS), a Government of Karnataka enterprise and Dassault Systems, a 3D EXPERIENCE and Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) solutions based company, announced the execution of a MoU to set up a Center of Excellence in ‘Aerospace and Defense’ in Karnataka.

The aerospace and defense industry in India is one of the fastest growing markets in the world. The government of India has turned its attention to building the aerospace and defense industry in India in a sustainable manner with a focus on indigenous manufacturing. This promising growth requires the availability of industry ready engineers and professionals who can be leveraged for project deployments with minimal on-the-job training. Government’s policy of promoting self-reliance, indigenization, and technology up-grades, achieving economies of scale and developing capabilities for exports in the defense sector also requires that the talent be developed in-house at a rapid pace to meet the demand.

Discussing the details of the announcement, Karnataka Minister for IT, BT and Tourism, Mr. Priyank Kharge, stated, “Bengaluru is a globally recognized technology hub. The endeavor of the State Government is to further strengthen its position, through the Centre of Excellence in aerospace and defense sectors. There is acute shortage of skilled engineers and professionals in the aerospace and defense sector. The Centre of Excellence will act as a catalyst of growth by making world class skilled professionals available for the aerospace and defense sector”. The Centre of Excellence in Aerospace and Defense is targeted at providing high-end training and skill development for about 1600 engineers every year.

With the ambition of increasing the employability of students and the professional skills of India’s aerospace industry, the Center of Excellence using the 3DEXPERIENCE platform will provide access to over 35 years of expertise and technology garnered from collaboration with global leading aerospace and defense companies. That experience takes the form of Dassault Systèmes’ Industry Solution Experiences addressing each major stage of aerospace programs, including “Winning Progam”, “Co-Design to Target”, “Ready for Rate” and “Build to Operate”.

Expressing his enthusiasm at the announcement Samson Khaou, Managing Director, India, Dassault Systèmes said, “India is ranked number one in the world in defense imports and there is great opportunity to increase the manufacturing and innovation activities in this sector in India towards gaining self-sufficiency. There is an acute shortage of skilled engineers and professionals in the aerospace and defense sector. The Center of Excellence in Aerospace and Defense will act as a catalyst of growth by making world-class skilled professionals available to the sector.”

The intent of the Center of Excellence in Aerospace and Defense is to:

· Train instructors in academia

· Train working professionals from the private sector

· Enhance the practical skills of students and certify them for employability

· Accelerate research projects undertaken by research institutes

· Augment research projects in collaboration with industry

Students benefiting from the Center of Excellence will gain pragmatic aerospace skills and knowledge from these industry solution experiences to help accelerate programs from concept to take-off by over 50 percent as the ultimate goal. The expected outcome of this education and experience with the ability to develop, test, and deploy leading edge engineering and manufacturing processes as well as with a global network of partners will be the success of ‘Made in India’.

This Center of Excellence is an important step towards making Karnataka an international hub for the aerospace and defense sector. This center will help in attracting foreign and domestic investments to the state since there will be ready availability of highly skilled professionals trained on the latest technology used in the aerospace and defense industry. The Center of Excellence would also increase employability of young professionals in the state.