VTU-Bosch centre opened in Mysore

The centre of competence in industrial automation, a project of the Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU), in association with the Bosch Rexroth (BR) of Germany, was formally inaugurated in Mysore on Monday.

Farmers' resistance to handover 8.5 acres of land to the VTU through the Mysore Urban Development Authority (MUDA) for building the Rs 12 crore centre compelled the Belgaum-based technological university to move its planned centre to GSSS Institute of Engineering and Technology for Women, in the Metagalli Industrial area on Mysore-KRS Road

The farmers are demanding a higher rate for their land from the MUDA. The VTU planned a 6,000 square metre built up area. As the matter is still to be resolved by the MUDA with the farmers, the VTU opted to begin operating from the GSSS Institute to keep its time schedule, March-end.

The training centre is expected to meet the growing need for technical personnel in the booming automobile industry in the country.

The Mysore centre will be the third after Singapore and Korea. The German partner is collaborating with one-third share of the project cost.

Support is also expected from the Department of Science & Technology, Government of India.

It will have state-of-the-art facilities hands-on training and education in six vital areas of industrial automation -- industrial hydraulics, pneumatics, programmable logic controllers, sensorics, mechatronics and robotics.

The post-graduate programmes in industrial automation and R&D activities will have an intake of 20-30 students in each of two batches going up to 50 batches.

As the automobile industry in India is witnessing a phenomenal growth, the centre would play a vital role in training and making available world class trained personnel whose requirement is also increasing along with the industry, the VC said.