The Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU) has set up a Research Park on its campus that will help facilitate academia-industry interaction and help students become entrepreneurs and job providers and set up their own companies. “Employability of students has always been a big problem. Instead of offering traditional lessons, the setting up of the Research Park will let students interact with industry. They can also nurture their ideas for start-ups that can be incubated here, and become entrepreneurs,” said Nitin Karmalkar, Vice-Chancellor SPPU. He also said that the university is planning to tie up with institutions and industries in running newer courses, which would make students industry-ready. Karmalkar was speaking at the unveiling of the SPPU Research Park, which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi via video conference on Sunday. Modi launched model degree colleges, research centres and digital projects worth Rs 3,300 crore across the country. SPPU, which was among the 150 centres, universities and colleges across India to be awarded digital projects, has received a grant of Rs 15 crore from the Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan (RUSA). Modi, who virtually launched the digital projects from Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir, said that technology is a great driver of the country and it can bring out transparency and facilitate distant-learning and setting up of virtual labs. According to Aditya Abhyankar, head, Department of Technology at SPPU, the Park would provide mentorship to students who are in the process of setting up companies. “This would be a centre that promotes business, research, innovation and development, where budding entrepreneurs will be encouraged to set up companies that are no longer service providers but those that manufacture products. Students will need to ideate products that will be in demand in the future years in this data-driven world,” said Abhyankar. The 28,000 sq feet SPPU Research Park also plans to incubate start-ups, support Medium and Small-scale Enterprises along with collaborating with industries in areas like automobile, agriculture, IT, automation and artificial intelligence and security, among others.
