IIT Mandi launches M Tech programme in Electric Transportation

Mandi, India (Urban Transport News):  The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Mandi has launched a Master’s programme in electric transportation. The first batch of the course will start in August 2022. This is a joint programme between the School of Computing & Electrical Engineering (SCEE) and the School of Engineering (SE) at IIT Mandi.

The course — the duration of which is two years — has been designed keeping in mind the electrification of transportation in India to promote a cleaner and sustainable environment in this country, as per the IIT. NITI Aayog initiated the discussion in July 2020 and requested IIT Mandi for its participation.

“Transportation system in India is on the path to electrification, future power systems need to optimize the use of convertible renewable energy sources. Electric vehicles charging raises additional electricity demand in India. This can be achieved in a practical and cost-effective manner with renewable energy, including solar and wind supplied to the grid. These challenges have opened up new career opportunities in engineering and technology in India and worldwide. The new course being launched at IIT Mandi is developed while keeping all these factors in consideration,” said the IIT in an official statement.

Talking about the importance of this programme, Dr. Samar, Chairperson School of Computing and Electrical Engineering and Dr. Narsa Reddy Tummuru, Programme Coordinator, IIT Mandi, said, “The MTech in Electric transportation has been designed in alignment with the objectives of the initiative taken by the Government of India to cater the growing demand of skilled personnel in the electric vehicle industry for both the new and the existing entrepreneurs.”

Objectives of the programme include:

● Equipping the students with both the conceptual and practical knowledge pertaining to the electric transport industry

● Exposing the students to cutting-edge research on electric transportation through various course projects, systems design (winter/summer short project), and dissertation

● Enhancing their employability in the EV industry by engaging them in solving problems that originated in the industry in their year-long dissertation

The course has been prudently designed keeping in mind the electrification of transportation in India to promote a cleaner and sustainable environment in this country. The Government of India has already put schemes, such as Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles (FAME) in action and is actively looking for collaboration with the relevant industries and academia.

Therefore, introducing the M.Tech program and other skill development programs in Electric Vehicles is one of the implementable options to provide a comprehensive view of electric mobility to students and professionals across the country.

NITI Aayog initiated the discussion in July 2020 and requested IIT Mandi for its participation.