Andhra Pradesh: IIPE aims at becoming energy hub for the country

Institute planning to start courses that will focus on sustainable energy

Plans are afoot to forge a tie-up with the IIM, Visakhapatnam, says Indian Institute of Petroleum and Energy Director Prof. Shalivahan.

The Indian Institute of Petroleum and Energy (IIPE), which was established in 2016 by an Act of Parliament and is an autonomous institute under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, is currently focussing on becoming the energy hub of the country.

The institute, recognised as the ‘Institution of National Importance’, is working towards becoming the think tank for the energy needs of the country.

Energy is the most important aspect for any country and it is directly related to the health of the economy, Director Prof. Shalivahan tells The Hindu.

“Keeping that in view we are working on courses that will serve the country’s energy needs by moving closer to the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals on sustainable or green energy. Sustainable or green energy is the future and all our programmes will lay special emphasis on this aspect,” he says.

Apart from the two B.Tech programmes in chemical engineering and petroleum energy, IIPE is now planning to start various PG programmes that will focus on sustainable energy.

“Our idea is that the institute should be able to give solutions to the country’s energy needs and that is why we are designing PG and research programmes that will focus on topics such as sustainable energy for smart cities and nano material and nano technology,” he explains.

Each of the PG programmes will have modules taught by foreign and industry experts. The students will have a one-year industry exposure and there will be a lot of focus on industry-academia interface. This apart, IIPE is also planning to start EDP (Entrepreneurship Development Programme) and about 10 programmes have been lined up for this year.

The EDP programmes will not be the conventional ones, but will have a lot of interaction with foreign experts and industrialists and Indian experts and industrialists, so that the exposure is made up of both science and practicals.

“Under the faculty mobility programme, we are making all faculty members undergo at least one month training in an industrial unit. Almost all industries under the MoPNG are stakeholders in this institute and so industry exposure will not be an issue,” he says.

Placement

Talking about industry exposure, Prof. Shalivahan says about 70 students from a batch of about 87, from the B.Tech streams have got placed in the core sector this year. Fifteen have opted for higher studies while two have taken the startup route, he says.

“To enhance the mood towards startups, we will be tying up with IIM-Visakhapatnam. IIPE also registered 100% internship for its students,” he adds.

To bring in a sense of belonging, the IIPE is also planning to adopt the Rushikonda Beach and Sabbavaram village, where the permanent campus of the institute is coming up.