~IIT Gandhinagar and Suzuki R&D Center India sign a three-year MoU to explore advanced materials, sensing, safety, connectivity and micro-mobility technologies.
Gandhinagar, Gujarat, Sep 28 (VNI): Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar (IITGN) and Suzuki R&D Center India Private Limited (SRDI), the research and development arm of Suzuki Motor Corporation in India, have entered into a new research and innovation collaboration to explore technologies including Ground Penetrating Radar, nano-carbon materials, sensing, safety and connectivity for micro-mobility applications.
The collaboration was formalised through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Monday and will create avenues for student projects, internships, recruitment, research and engagement with start-ups through IITGN’s Research Park. The partnership will also focus on emerging technologies relevant to Suzuki’s micro-mobility initiatives and provide opportunities for industry–academia interaction.
“The future of mobility will be shaped not just by vehicles themselves, but by the technologies behind them, from advanced materials and sensing to safety and connectivity. For our students and researchers, the opportunity is to see how ideas move from the lab to address real-world challenges and applications,” said Prof Amit Prashant, Dean, External Relations, IIT Gandhinagar. He said the collaboration can create new connections for students, researchers and the start-up ecosystem.
Mr Taku Sumino, Executive General Manager, Technology Strategy, SRDI, highlighted the importance of industry–academia collaboration, skill development and partnerships in addressing emerging challenges, including environmental sustainability. He said Suzuki would advance technological research and development and talent exchange with IIT Gandhinagar, with a particular focus on friction reduction technologies aimed at improving fuel efficiency and electric efficiency and reducing energy consumption.
For students, the collaboration will provide opportunities beyond conventional classroom and laboratory exposure. The MoU provides for exploring internships, project-based engagements and recruitment of students, researchers and engineers by SRDI and the wider Suzuki group, along with skill-development and capability-building initiatives.
The partnership will also connect Suzuki with IITGN’s start-up, incubation and Research Park ecosystem. The two organisations will explore co-creation programmes, workshops and opportunities in emerging technologies, besides potentially undertaking joint and sponsored research, exchanging scientific and technical information, organising technical workshops, facilitating industrial visits and engaging faculty, researchers and experts. Individual projects will be taken up through separate agreements.
The three-year MoU provides a broad framework for collaboration and does not commit the institutions to any specific project. The agreement also involves no financial commitment, while funding and other project-specific terms will be decided separately, wherever applicable. VNI NEWS, IIT Gandhinagar, Suzuki R&D Center India, SRDI, Suzuki Motor Corporation, micro-mobility, advanced materials, Ground Penetrating Radar, nano-carbon materials, sensing technology, mobility research, industry academia collaboration, Research Park, IITGN Suzuki R&D collaboration, Suzuki R&D Center India, micro-mobility technologies, advanced materials and sensing, IIT Gandhinagar MoU, VNINews, VNINews.com