Technology Park to Come Up on AU Campus
Visakhapatnam: Andhra University is making rapid progress in establishing start-up and incubation centres on campus, and it will soon have another technology park set up up by Software Technology Parks of India.
In this context, STPI director general Arvind Kumar will sign a Memorandum of Understanding with Andhra University Registrar Prof V. Krishna Mohan on July 6.
"This will be another landmark establishment in north coastal Andhra Pradesh, providing opportunities for a large number of entrepreneurs and eventually leading to employment and revenue for the university," said Andhra University Vice-Chancellor Prof P.V.G.D. Reddy.
Prof Reddy told this reporter that the IT ministry sanctioned Rs 60 crore for the project in three phases, with Rs 19.5 crore approved as the first phase budget. He stated that the park will foster entrepreneurship, train young people, and even provide chances for senior folks. He stated that students should not seek employment with international and local IT firms.
"We already have 440 interns working in 102 start-up companies, and we started generating Rs 160 crore revenue this year, which is enough to run the university for four months," the Vice-Chancellor stated.
He stated that Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy will soon build a-Hub, which houses the majority of start-ups. The projected STPI skyscraper would be located directly across from a-Hub.
Among the plans for the next five years, the Vice-Chancellor stated that new courses will be introduced and the current student body would be enlarged from 15,000 to 22,000 people. He stated that the majority of the courses would be professional in nature.
Arvind Kumar, the director general of STPI, will formally open the Industry 4.0 centre for excellence at RINL's Visakhapatnam Steel Plant on July 6. STPI, Andhra University, and RINL are collaborating to establish the centre. The centre will operate in the steel mill for the first two years before being relocated to the AU campus, according to the VC.