Siemens PLM Software inks pact to set up CoEs for skill development in higher education in Gujarat

November 12, 2013: Siemens Industry Software India (SISW), a wholly owned subsidiary of Siemens Product Lifecycle Management Software Inc, has signed an agreement with the Ministry of Industries and Mines (government of Gujarat) for the establishment of five Centers of Excellence (CoEs) across the state. The agreement was signed jointly by SISW and their partner, DesignTech Systems Ltd. (DesignTech).

The five COEs will address diverse industry segments like automotive, industrial machinery, industrial automation, aerospace and defense, and shipbuilding. The collaboration will train students on relevant industry processes and help create industry-ready trained personnel. This industry-readiness and relevance of skills will attract better career opportunities for students and will eventually foster further industrial development in the state of Gujarat. The COEs will stitch together the virtual world of engineering and manufacturing simulation with the physical world of product development and manufacturing.

Equipped with the latest PLM software solutions from Siemens PLM Software, such as NX software for digital product engineering, Teamcenter software for digital lifecycle management and Tecnomatix software for digital manufacturing, and industrial automation equipment from Siemens Industry, these COEs will have the latest computer numerical controllers (CNC), programmable logic controllers (PLC), computer integrated manufacturing units (CIM) comprising of CNC milling and turning machines, automated guided vehicles (AGV), industrial robots, automatic storage and retrieval systems, vision inspection systems for quality control, CIM controllers and software and rapid prototyping machines. All the software is integrated using the Siemens Total Integrated Automation (TIA) portal, and each of the COEs will have seven fully equipped laboratories staffed with instructors trained and certified by SISW.

Narendra Modi, chief minister of Gujarat, commented: “The agreement with Siemens for five Centers of excellence is not just an academic activity, but an initiative to meet the emerging education needs and aspirations of not only Gujarat, but also our country as a whole. This initiative with Siemens will help make our fresh engineering graduates employable and productive. This investment will bear fruit, good work will be done and Siemens will be able to present this as a model initiative to the world.”

Industries minister Saurabh Patel said the decision of Siemens to set up COEs will be useful in catering to the demand of skilled work force in the rapidly growing industries sectors in Gujarat. He said: “An investment of Rs 489 crore has been set for these five COEs, in which the state government will provide Rs 85 crore. DesignTech will manage the COEs for three years and then will entrust it to the state government.”

Suman Bose, Managing Director, Siemens Industry Software India, added: “We firmly believe that focused skill development initiatives like this are essential to sustain and enhance India’s manufacturing competitiveness in the long run. These COEs will be the first of their kind in the country and will go a long way to further enhance the industry readiness of Gujarat.”

SHOBHA MATHUR