IIT Bhubaneswar, Indian Army Ink MoU for Joint Research in Emerging Technologies
The MoU was signed by Brigadier G.S. Bedi, Commandant, SDD, Secunderabad, and Professor Dinakar Pasla, Dean (Sponsored Research & Industrial Consultancy), IIT Bhubaneswar
Bhubaneswar: The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bhubaneswar and the Simulator Development Division (SDD) of the Indian Army have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate on advanced research, training, and innovation in Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), Artificial Intelligence (AI), Robotics, and other emerging technologies, according to an official communication from IIT Bhubaneswar.
The MoU was signed by Brigadier G.S. Bedi, Commandant, SDD, Secunderabad, and Professor Dinakar Pasla, Dean (Sponsored Research & Industrial Consultancy), IIT Bhubaneswar, in an online ceremony on October 14. The partnership aims to harness academic and technological excellence to enhance defence capabilities, simulation-based training, and innovation-driven applications.
As part of the agreement, IIT Bhubaneswar will provide academic and research support through its Virtual and Augmented Reality Centre of Excellence (VARCOE), while SDD will facilitate practical exposure and collaborative projects in defence simulation and technology prototyping. The collaboration will also include short-term training and certification programmes, student internships, access to facilities, and joint innovation initiatives such as hackathons and ideation challenges.
Speaking on the occasion, Prof. Dinakar said the partnership will strengthen IIT Bhubaneswar’s commitment to national defence and technological self-reliance. Brigadier Bedi noted that the MoU would foster synergy between defence and academia, promoting indigenous technology solutions aligned with the Army’s operational needs.
The MoU will remain in force for five years, enabling long-term collaboration and knowledge exchange between the two institutions in frontier areas of technology development and application.
