ISRO, The Indian Space Research Organization, has recently made an announcement for setting up of the space technology cells in some of the premier engineering institutes and science colleges that include IITs (Indian Institute of Technology) in Bombay, Madras, Kanpur and Kharagpur, IISc (Indian Institute of Science) in Bengaluru and SPPU (Savitribai Phule Pune University) in Pune.
This collaboration of the premier institutions with ISRO is undertaken to carry out the various space research activities and applications. In this regard, the Union Minister of State, Jitendra Singh told the Rajya Sabha, “ISRO desires development of high-end technology in collaboration with IITs in the areas of Space Science, Space Technology and Space Applications. The identified projects will be funded by ISRO.”
Speaking about this move, eminent personalities like Dr. Vikram Sarabhai, the former director, Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre, Trivandrum, highlighted the merging missions of ISRO and urged the institutions to involve academics to address the various research development requirements to achieve the ISRO missions.
Last year, ISRO launched incubators across the nation to guide space start-ups like Aniara Communications, Bellatrix Aerospace, Exseed Space, and Satsure. This move on behalf of ISRO got worldwide praise. ISRO began working with start-ups to built-in robust solutions on rocketry communication satellites, and remote sensing data, to name a few.