Indian Railways’ Gati Shakti Vishwavidyalaya, Airbus sign agreement for aerospace teaching

New Delhi: Vadodara-based Gati Shakti Vishwavidyalaya and Airbus entered into a collaboration on Friday to significantly strengthen the Indian aviation sector, a press statement from the Railway Ministry said.

“Following up on the MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) signed in September 2023, a definitive agreement was signed at Rail Bhawan, New Delhi, between Mr Rémi Maillard (President and Managing Director, AIRBUS India and South Asia) and Prof. Manoj Choudhary (Vice-Chancellor, Gati Shakti Vishwavidyalaya),” the ministry added.

According to the ministry, the agreement includes a full scholarship programme for 40 GSV students for the entire programme duration, setting up the Centre of Excellence at the GSV as well as the Airbus Aviation Chair Professor position at the GSV.

“Further, GSV and Airbus will partner for executive training for working professionals in the aviation sector,” the ministry said.

Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, who is also the first chancellor of the Gati Shakti Vishwavidyalaya, was present at the event along with Union Minister of Civil Aviation Kinjarapu Ram Mohan Naidu, Minister of State for Railways Ravneet Singh, Railway Board Chairman and CEO Jaya Varma Sinha, Ministry of Civil Aviation Secretary Vumlunmang Vualnam and senior officials of the Railway Board.

Speaking on the occasion, Vaishnaw said, "Today marks the conversion from MoU to actual action. Congratulations to GSV and AIRBUS. Whatever has been promised is delivered, that is one of the biggest marks of Prime Minister Modi ji government. Again in the spirit of 'Sabka Saath Sabka Vikas' as our prime minister says, there has to be development of aviation, highways, railways, road transportation.”

“Practically, everything has to go together. We will keep on collaborating with all in the spirit of 'Sabka 'Saath, Sabka Vikas'. The reason why GSV was established was to have a focussed and specialized institution which caters to all sectors of transportation, we started with Railways, we gradually moved to manufacturing, next sector we moved onto is Civil Aviation, the next sector planned is Ministry of Shipping and Logistics. Again, we will start in a focussed way, one program from that sector. Then, we will move to other sectors in transportation,” Vaishnaw added.

Expressing happiness, Naidu said, "In the last ten years, Airports have nearly doubled from 74 airports to 157 airports now. Udaan scheme has brought Tier II and Tier III cities on the map of aviation. We will continue to take mentorship of Railways.” “The Ministry of Civil Aviation will fully collaborate and support Gati Shakti Vishwavidyalaya for the progress of the aviation sector and that GSV should prepare to launch Masters and Ph.D programs,” he added.

Ravneet Singh was of the view that this initiative would witness an increase in job creation and would prevent brain drain from our country.

Rémi Maillard, President and Managing Director, Airbus in India and South Asia, said, "This is a ground-breaking partnership between industry and academia that will support the development of a strong pool of professionals who will power the future of India’s transportation sector, especially aviation.” “This will be a unique success story of the Government of India's 'Skill India' programme. As a part of MoU, we will provide job opportunities to 15000 students in our supply chain in India,” Maillard added.

GSV Vice Chancellor Professor Manoj Choudhary said the pioneering partnership with Airbus will significantly advance GSV’s vision to be industry-driven and innovation-led university and also defines a template for industry-academia collaboration in India.

“We are thankful to Airbus for their very substantial contribution for regular education as well as executive education programs at GSV, which will enable the growth of aviation sector in India through creation of superior human resources, skilling and cutting-edge research,” he added.

Sponsored by the Ministry of Railways, Gati Shakti Vishwavidyalaya (GSV), Vadodara, was established through an Act of Parliament in 2022, for creating best in class manpower and talent for the entire transportation and logistics sectors.