The Indian Institute of Science (IISc.), which started operations of its second campus at Khudapura village in Challakere taluk of the district in 2010, has taken up work on a skill development centre.
It is being set up with the help of Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd. (HAL). The centre will be called HAL-IISc Skill Development Centre.
According to official sources, one of the main works taken up by the IISc. has been the establishment of a talent development centre where science and mathematics teachers from government high schools are trained.
This residential training with hands-on-experiments was widely appreciated and the Union government recognised it as a first Centre of Excellence in training in science and mathematics under the Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya National Mission on teachers and teaching.
The concept of skill development was in the pipeline for nearly eight years. The skill development programme of the Union government gave impetus to the initiative.
The broad framework of the infrastructure required for the centre and the nature of programmes were discussed within the IISc. community for almost four years. The training of nearly 9,000 teachers so far has also given valuable experience in this direction, the sources said.
HAL is funding the project under its corporate social responsibility scheme. The beneficiaries of the programme range from local communities to high-end professionals, the sources said.
The project includes construction of a centre with the facilities for providing training in multi-skill development in industrial and development works; an auditorium with a seating capacity of 200 people; lecture halls; and a hostel block with 100 rooms for 200 persons for trainees. The Central Public Works Department has been entrusted with the responsibility of executing the project. The construction work is expected to be completed in two years and the centre will start functioning from March 2019.
The other works being take up are construction of rainwater harvesting units, climate research laboratory, solar power research centre, and a centre for bio-energy based low carbon technology.
