Volvo Construction Equipment’s (Volvo CE), road machinery division, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Visvesvaraya Technological University (VTU), Belgaum, for offering hands-on industry education to post-graduate students of the university.
Under the partnership, the post graduate civil engineering students of VTU will get a practical knowledge of operating Volvo’s construction equipment as well as carrying out live projects at Volvo’s Resource Centre for Asphalt and Soil Testing Academy (RASTA) in Bangalore.
The MoU was signed in the presence of Prof. H P Khincha, Vice Chancellor, VTU and Pat Olney, President of Volvo’s Road Machinery business.
VTU has recognised RASTA as an extension centre to offer post graduate courses in road technology to bridge the chasm between technology and end-user application through RASTA. VTU is the only university in India offering this course where there has been an acute shortage of competent civil engineers to meet and execute the government vision plan, K Ramnath, general manager and dean, RASTA told reporters after signing the MoU.
The courses offered include PG Certificate in Highway Engineering, PG Diploma, M Tech and PhD in Road Technology. RASTA was established in Bangalore in January 2002 to disseminate knowledge in the emerging area of highway engineering and technology.
It has a team of road professionals and guest faculty from the industry, academic and research. The centre has a full-fledged highway engineering laboratory and field-testing facilities. There are two tracks for the participants to operate the equipment and understand the performance characteristics of compaction and paving.
A reference library and adequate infrastructure to organise educational and training courses is also part of the centre. RASTA, an extension centre of VTU, is also recognised as the State Technical Agency (STA) by the National Rural Road Development Agency (NRRDA) for evaluation and estimation of rural road projects in Karnataka.
RASTA will have distance education facility through VSAT for all civil engineering students of various engineering colleges affiliated to the VTU and create opportunity to attract young talent to road construction. The same programme can also be availed of by construction companies for updating their knowledge and enhance skill levels for their engineers on the latest technology, Ramnath added.
