Chandigarh University, Gharuan has signed an Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Punjab Government’s premier enterprise Punjab Remote Sensing Centre (PRSC) Ludhiana to enhance research and academic collaboration for application of Remote Sensing and Geospatial Technology.
With this tactical partnership, Chandigarh University and PRSC aim to share knowledge, faculty and resources to make advancements in the areas of Geoinformatics and Remote Sensing focusing on advanced geospatial tools and techniques.
The MoU in this regard was signed between Prof (Dr) Anand Agarwal, Vice-Chancellor, Chandigarh University and Dr Brijendra Pateriya, Director, PRSC, Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) campus, Ludhiana, in the presence of senior members of CU and senior scientists from PRSC.
A Centre of Excellence for Geoinformatics and Remote Sensing was also inaugurated in the Department of Civil Engineering at Chandigarh University, aimed at encouraging various initiatives including government missions which are playing key roles to implement and monitor the schemes through satellite data and other sensor uses.
Giving information, Prof (Dr) Anand Agarwal said that with this partnership, both the institutions would converge energies, expertise and resources to focus on advanced geospatial tools and techniques for utilities surveys and resources management among others.
Apart from this, quality training will be provided to the students in the field of research and development through seminars, workshops, conferences, exhibitions and research publications etc, even as Faculty development programs will be conducted at both the institutions, he added.
Dr Agarwal also informed that a joint Master in Engineering (ME) program on Remote Sensing and Geo-Informatics related subjects will be offered by PRSC and Chandigarh University in near future.
“This agreement will allow the researchers of both institutions to work on joint research projects, exchange research materials, publish research papers in international and Indian scientific journals and will provide assistance in publishing books. Likewise, exchange of faculty will also be done for further qualitative improvements in research areas,” he added.
Speaking on the occasion, Dr Brijendra Pateriya, Director, PRSC, Ludhiana said that this collaboration will strengthen the better utilization of resources to serve the society by using geospatial infrastructure majorly to help our farmers, for disaster mitigation and management, utilities surveys, water and land resource management, urban and rural development, including Landslide Hazard Zonation (LHZ) and allied aspects based on expertise and resource availability in the respective institution.
Following the signing of MoU, both organisations discussed the need to develop techniques to mitigate natural disaster in the Himalayan zone.