Thiruvananthapuram, May 14 (IANS): The CSIR-National Institute for Interdisciplinary Science and Technology (NIIST) has inked an MoU with the National Institute of Technology, Calicut (NIT-C) to collaborate in research and education through the exchange of students and faculty in interdisciplinary areas of science and technology.

The MoU was signed on the sidelines of the National Technology Day celebrations held at the CSIR-NIIST here by C. Anandharamakrishnan, Director, CSIR-NIIST, and Prasad Krishna, Director, NIT-C.

Anandharamakrishnan said the tie-up will open up big opportunities for NIT students to explore research stints in frontier areas of materials science and engineering, food technology, biotechnology, chemical sciences, and environmental technology in addition to the fast-emerging fields of artificial intelligence and machine learning.

Krishna said the MoU with CSIR-NIIST will facilitate joint efforts in providing unique opportunities for graduate and post-graduate engineering students with a flair for applied R&D.

The agreement also envisages joint curriculum development for MTech programmes, skill development workshops, and instrumentation training.

NIIST is a constituent laboratory of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), which is known for its cutting-edge R&D knowledge base in diverse fields of science and technology.