Innovation, Incubation and Research Center

By: Dr. M.S.Kadam (hodmech@jnec.ac.in)
Date: 19^th April 2021

The unexpected outbreak of this deadly COVID-19 has led the world to a lethal and disastrous pandemic whose effects are here to stay long after the virus itself is gone. This pandemic has not just created a health & medical emergency but it has also woken us up to a nightmarish job crisis across the globe. It will completely change the Indian employment scenario especially in engineering and related industrial sectors. The employers who are already facing economical crunches will be more sensitive towards hiring fresh engineers; the screenings for the core engineering jobs will be more focused on specialized skills ra-ther than the basic engineering degrees.

It will be very important for the aspiring engineers to choose their institution keenly now more than ever, as they must choose the institute which can provide them top notch technologies like Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Block Chain etc and train them for advanced specializations like Industry 4.0, Internet of Things, Robotics, Mechatronics, Autonomous & E-Vehicles, Drone Technolo-gy, 3D Printing with highly focused Industrial exposure properly aligned with core engi-neering curriculum.

The engineering students of Marathwada region have been lucky in this regard, as this region has produced some top engineering institutions of national repute. The pioneer of them all is "Mahatma Gandhi Mission's Jawaharlal Nehru Engineering College Au-rangabad" (MGM's JNEC), which is standing in all its glory for more than 3 decades serv-ing the society. MGM'S JNEC has been providing the best engineering education equipped with advanced specializations and focused industrial approach which makes it stand apart from others and now the prestigious institute has evolved into "MGM University" the first self-financed private university of Marathwada.

MGM University's engineering curriculum is a beautiful blend of core engineering and highly advanced industrial grade technologies. The MGM University's B. Tech Me-chanical Engineering Program is one of the best in the country whose strong backbone is its vast alumni network working on key positions across the globe and its international and national collaborations with industries, industrial societies and world renowned premier institutions.

MGM University has recently established the state of art "Innovation, Incubation and Research Centre" (IIRC), which is a unique centre of excellence for all the cutting edge technologies & advanced industrial research and training platforms in collaboration with the best industries around the world.

The highlights of the IIRC are its highly advanced and equipped labs like "Autono-mous Vehicle Lab" with its Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) & Virtual Test Drive (VTD) which is highly applicable in aerospace & next generation vehicles. IIRC al-so has an "Electrical Vehicle Lab" focusing on drive modules, E-Car box and its battery management systems. IIRC in collaboration with SSIGMA, German industry leaders like FESTO & Christiani Sharpline has also established “Industrial Automation Lab" for train-ing students in industrial integrated automation using PLC and SCADA programming with industrial hydraulics & pneumatics circuits.

Mechatronics Lab of IIRC is equipped with cutting edge German technology with Multi-Station product manufacturing and assembly line well suited for creating engineers for Industry 4.0. The highly advanced Industrial Robotics Lab features 5 axis collaborative robot, Welding robot center by Japanese robotics leader YASAKAWA and many more. The Center also hosts Additive Manufacturing and Reverse Engineering Lab with state of art 3D Printers & advanced CNC centers. The recent collaboration of IIRC includes CIM/CFD Lab with high end software technologies from MSC Adams, USA and Flowtech Division Lab in Collaboration with the Industry giant "Endress+Hauser".

These are the future trends and the way forward for the Indian Industries which can make them efficient and able to compete with competitors worldwide after the Pandemic.

(Author is Professor and Head, Department of Mechanical Engineering of Jawaharlal Nehru Engineering College which is constituent college of MGM University, Aurangabad)