AICTE, ISpA sign MoU to promote domestic first-gen space engineers

Education and industry bodies have joined hands to promote space education in engineering colleges and offer students exposure to India's private space sector.

The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) and industry body Indian Space Association (ISpA) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Tuesday to nurture and early generation of space engineers.

Most Indian startups in the space sector currently lack trained space engineers.

Speaking at a space symposium in Delhi, T.G. Sitharam, chairman, AICTE said that the move will “spread awareness and understanding of space technology and its applications among students and faculty alike… through webinars, events and exhibitions.”

Exposure to new technology development

“The initiative will increase exposure to new technology development, both national and international, through newsletters, events and webinars. We’ll also jointly conduct orientation programmes to apprise students about opportunities. 

Industry interactions, which could include opportunities for industry familiarization visits, internships and exposure to potential jobs, will be done. We’ll also facilitate industry-wide technology challenges and hackathons for participation by teams of space-tech in AICTE-approved engineering institutions,” Sitharam further added.

India’s push to promote space curricula in engineering institutes has been in the works for a while. 

Also Read: Agnikul Cosmos: It's definitely rocket science

In June, Pawan Goenka, chairman of government-affiliated Indian National Space Promotions and Authorization Centre (In-Space), told Mint in an interview, “The domestic space industry is still at an early stage. On the Centre’s behalf, we are already pushing to include curricula dedicated to the space sector at Indian Institute of Technology (IITs)—and we’ll be expanding this manifold across India’s engineering colleges in the long run.”

Sitharam on Tuesday gave more details: “We’ve launched a new space technology curriculum formulated by In-Space. The future of India’s space ecosystem is envisioned to be highly automated, flexible and economically viable. A robust space infrastructure will not only enable the growth of innovative applications, but also foster competitive services. The necessity to support cost-efficient, responsive and flexible approaches to space cannot be overstated,” he said.

The curriculum on space, he added, encompasses “a comprehensive range of subjects—from the basics of launch vehicle systems, to advanced space data products and services".

Speaking on the potential impact of promoting space education at engineering institutes, S. Somanath, chairman, Indian Space Research Organization (Isro), said, “If India counts every rupee that has been spent on our space programme since its genesis until now, we’ve produced an economic impact to the tune of 2.5x of the investment.”

Also Read: Indian citizen astronaut to fly to space in upcoming mission, you can apply too

“Space has also created immense value, the net worth of which is in tens of billions of dollars. It has created jobs and employment opportunities for hundreds of thousands of people, in both direct and indirect ways. We’ve created support systems for fishermen, agriculture, crop forecasting, natural resources planning, disaster avoidance and more. 

India is a startup nation with over 150,000 startups—and we’re only a small subset with 200 space startups that have come up in the past few years. I believe there’s scope for far greater growth,” Somanath added.

‘Open call for space entrepreneurs’

The top official, who also serves as the secretary for the Department of Space (DoS), offered an “open call” for space entrepreneurs—underlining India’s first-generation space curriculum as a step to promote the latter.

In-Space’s vision and strategy for the next decade, issued in October last year, projected a potential space-sector valuation of $44 billion by 2033, a rise from an estimated valuation of $8 billion by DoS itself. Industry stakeholders have so far questioned the valuation, urging the Centre to replicate the US model, where the government is a key customer, to promote space ventures.

At last month’s Union budget, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman set aside a ₹1,000 crore venture fund for space startups—a move that was appreciated. 

Narayan Prasad Nagendra, chief operating officer of space startup Satsearch, told Mint at the time, “While the quantum of the fund and its mechanism of being distributed remain to be seen, it’s good to note that the Centre is getting its skin in the game for space—a move that can only encourage foreign investments.”