Come July, the Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) space tech institute in Thiruvananthapuram will launch at one go 10 masters programmes including nine M Tech courses and one M Sc course.
The Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST), at Valiamala in the district, is starting M Tech courses in Machine Learning and Computing; Material Science and Technology; Aerodynamics and Flight Mechanics; Structures and Design; Very Large-Scale Integration (VLSI) and Micro Systems; Control Systems; Earth System Science; Geoinformatics and Solid State Technology. IIST is also rolling out an MS course in astronomy and astrophysics.
“Of the 10 seats in each course, six will be open to students from outside and four will be for ISRO-sponsored students. Students from outside should be GATE-qualified,” IIST director K S Dasgupta said.
At present, IIST has four M Tech programmes in propulsion, Radio Frequency and Microwave Engineering; Digital Signal processing, and Optical Engineering.
“We launch new programmes every year. This year, we have nine M Tech programmes plus the one MS course in astronomy and astrophysics,” Dasgupta said.
IIST was started in 2007 to mould space scientists and to address the manpower crunch faced by the ISRO.
Students who make the cut are absorbed into various units of ISRO. At present, IIST- which has seven departments in all- offers undergraduate programmes in avionics, aerospace engineering and physical sciences.
In addition to this, IIST is also offering research programmes in space tech-related areas.