THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Digital University Kerala (DUK) and Esri India, the world’s leading Geographic Information System (GIS) software and solutions provider, have entered into an agreement to set up Esri India Centre of Competence on the DUK campus to address the growing demand for trained manpower in the geospatial sector in the country.
As per the memorandum of understanding (MoU), which was signed by DUK Vice-Chancellor Saji Gopinath and Esri India managing director Agendra Kumar in a virtual event held on Friday, the Centre of Competence will facilitate enhanced research, innovation and solutions in the field of geospatial technology.
Through this unique collaboration, the DUK and Esri India aim to integrate GIS into mainstream courses of DUK such as machine learning, artificial intelligence, data engineering, geospatial analytics, geo-informatics, agri-informatics and various engineering disciplines. The Centre of Competence will take initiatives to conduct regular capsule and skill development programmes for students, research scholars and faculty, joint certification programmes and webinars on relevant areas of geospatial technologies. Association with Esri India will also open up internship opportunities for eligible students of DUK.
Esri India will provide support in setting up a GIS infrastructure on the DUK campus which includes GIS campus site licences, installation support for the latest software upgrades, flexible deployment of software and online technical assistance.
“By associating with Esri India, DUK will be able to offer more programmes that could effectively transform the students with various backgrounds such as earth science, environmental science, life sciences and agriculture to develop as high-quality geospatial professionals,” said the VC. The infrastructure that will be established will enable the creation of technology solutions and the development of programmes in areas such as natural resources management, agriculture, disaster management, climate resilience and urban planning.