Indian Air Force and Andhra University Sign an MoU For Offering Courses

Andhra University has signed five MoUs with the Indian Air Force to introduce various courses handcrafted for defence personnel and airmen. Registrar of the university, V Uma Maheswara Rao exchanged the MoU papers with the Air Vice-Marshal SS Sharma in Visakhapatnam yesterday.

When the Vice Chancellor of the university, G Nageswara Rao, visited the Air Force Academy in Hyderabad and the Air Force Technical College in Bengaluru, the university had chalked up plans to enter into MoUs with the IAF, Indian Navy and the Director-General of Naval Projects.

The university will soon be offering PhD programmes and lateral entry into B Tech, BA and B Com courses through distance. They will also be offering diploma courses in management and MBA programmes for the defence personnel from the upcoming academic year. Plans are also afoot to sign a MoU with INS Kalinga for offering consultancy and research programmes.

“The sailors and airmen when they join the service have Intermediate qualification and will be taught and trained for seven and a half years. Once they complete the training, they can pursue a technical degree at AU for which credits will be awarded. In extension, Directorate General Resettlement (DGR) have proposed to have a six-month diploma course in fire-fighting, disaster management and skill development,” the VC stated on the occasion. Foreign language courses will also be offered through distance mode for the defence personnel, handy for when they go on assignments to other countries.

AU will also have research collaborations with ICG soon, wherein the chemical and mechanical engineering students will be able to conduct research on water analysis and clearing oil spills in the ICG ships.