New Delhi: A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was on March 5 inked between Education Department of Government of Gujarat and Institute of Defence Scientists and Technologists (IDST), as Knowledge and Resource Partner, a registered society of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

Government of Gujarat shall facilitate a School of Advanced Defence Studies (SADS), with the nodal partner Gujarat University, Ahmedabad; and a School of Defence Technologies (SDT), with the nodal partner Institute of Infrastructure Technology Research and Management (IITRAM), Gandhinagar, with the knowledge support of IDST.

The MoU states that the Gujarat University and Institute shall suitably engage the industry in consultation with IDST and Government of Gujarat to facilitate industry participation and employability of the students.

Government of Gujarat and IDST shall also share resources available at each organisation’s disposal i.e. intellectual resources of IDST and infrastructure and financial resources of Government of Gujarat, for start-up support to each other in order to strengthen the defence-related efforts in Gujarat.

DRDO Chairman Dr G Satheesh Reddy; Veteran Air Marshal RK Dhir, Advisor to the Government of Gujarat for Aerospace and Defence; Mrs Anju Sharma IAS, Principal Secretary, Education Department, Government of Gujarat; Prof (Dr) Himanshu Pandya, Vice Chancellor Gujarat University; Dr Shiva Prasad, Director General IITRAM; and Ravin Vyas, Director Avbodh Knowledge Foundation Ltd were present during the signing ceremony of MoU in the DRDO office in New Delhi.