April 4, 2012
Top officials from India visited Michigan State University on Wednesday, April 4, to explore collaborative efforts in education, training, and research between MSU and institutions of higher learning in India.
Meeting with College of Engineering administration was K. Jose Cyriac, Secretary to the Government of India, Department of Chemicals & Petrochemicals, Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers; S.K. Ilangovan, chief manager, Central Institute of Plastics Engineering & Technology (CIPET), India; and Manoj Mehta, deputy director, Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry. The officials were also scheduled to meet with MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon later in the day.
The visitors learned more about MSU's role as a premier research and educational institution of higher learning, and discussed mechanisms for how MSU could collaborate with CIPET and other institutions.
"We are working with our partners in India to establish collaborative programs that combine a solid academic foundation with training in applied research and development," says Satish Udpa, dean of MSU's College of Engineering.
Preliminary discussions about the collaborative efforts began after MSU's Ramani Narayan, University Distinguished Professor of chemical engineering and materials science, introduced the idea. The pace of discussions intensified following Udpa's recent visit to India, where he met with S. K. Nayak, professor and director general of CIPET; and Neelkamal Darbari, Joint Secretary to the Government of India.
CIPET is the premier national institution in India, dedicated to education, research, development, and engineering for the plastics and allied industries in India. There are 15 CIPET institutions spread across the country, having uniform infrastructure and facilities in the areas of design, CAD/CAM/CAE, tooling and mold manufacturing, plastics processing, testing, and quality control. Several of the CIPET campuses have major research and development programs with industry.
