Brainstorming SessionIndustry-Academia Interaction
(Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas)
J.P. GuptaDirector
Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Petroleum Technology
Rae Bareli, (U.P.)
Ashoka Hotel, New DelhiOctober 17, 2008
RGIPT is an initiative of MOPN&G to cater to the technical and managerial talent needs of the Petroleum and Energy sector
The Institute is established under Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Petroleum Technology Act, 2007, passed by Parliament in December 2007 as an institute of national importance.
Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Petroleum Technology
Vision of the Institute
To create learning aspirations among the youth of the country towards the Oil and Gas Sector.
To serve as a fountainhead for nurturing of world class human capital capable of being the future leaders of technology and innovation, not only in India but also abroad.
To provide education, research and consultancy for the entire hydrocarbon value chain.
Governance Structure
•Present Structure
The Board of trustees appointed by MOP&NG in August, 2006 with representations from promoting oil PSUs, OIDB & IIT, Kanpur. Shri D M Reddy , ED, BPCL as President.
Advisory Council – Secretary, P&NG as Chairman with C&MD’s of promoting oil PSUs, eminent academicians, representatives of Govt. Bodies as members
MOP&NG appointed Prof. J P Gupta, a senior professor from IIT, Kanpur as first Director from June 26, 2008
Rs. 260.58 Crore Cumulative Recurring
Expenditure
Rs. 435 Crore - Capital Expenditure
Rs. 150 crore
(OIDB)
Rs. 285 crore
(Budgetary Support during
11th Plan)
Rs. 695.58 Crore – Total Project Cost
Rs 250 crore –
Endowment Fund
By Oil PSU
(Rs. 50 Crore- 2006-07)
(Rs. 150 Crore - 2007-08)
(Rs. 50 Crore 2008-09)
plus
Institute’s Earnings
Financial Outlay
Academic Programmes
Academic Programs from 2008-09 in hired campus
B. Tech – Rae Bareli Campus
Petroleum Production & Reservoir- Student Intake- 35Petroleum Refining – Student Intake - 35
MBA- Noida CampusPetroleum Management – Student Intake- 50
Capability Building
Collaborations with foreign universities is being explored for Faculty/Student Exchange, Joint Research/Consultancy/Program etc. Aberdeen University, U. K Texas A& M University, USA Colorado School of Mines, USA University of Calgary, Canada University of Alberta, Canada Curtin University of Technology, Perth , Australia IFP School of Petroleum, France China University of Petroleum Technology, Beijing
Capability Building
Developing linkages with - Promoting Oil PSUs training Centres and R&D institutes particularly of E&P sector for specialisation in the areas :
Oil & Gas Field Development PlanningEnhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) StudiesImproved Oil Recovery (IOR) StudiesGeo-microbial Hydrocarbon prospectingBasin modelingHydrocarbon Resource AppraisalProspect generationGeological & Geo-chemical ResearchSeismic Data Processing & InterpretationSeismic Software Development
“Industry – Academia Interactions”
3-day Brainstorming Conference
IIT Kanpur, Silver Jubilee year 1985
‘Such interactions were so essential for
the rapid progress of a nation!’
Points covered:
• Existing information gap
• Mutual lack of appreciation of the goals/
priorities in industry and academia
• Industry-funded long term, high risk R&D
projects at academic institutions
• Interactions in Education – UG, PG and
continuing education
• Planning for the future
Speakers included:
• Sh Arif Mohd. Khan,
• Sh Gaur Hari Singhania,
• Dr S Verdarajan,
• Dr M R Srinivasan,
• Sh Ramakrishna Bajaj,
• Prof. S Sampath,
• Another dozen equally well-known persons.
Rename today’s meeting as ‘Government –
Industry – Academia’ interaction
• Government initiative in calling this meeting.
• Government has set-up most of the academic
institutions/ universities represented here.
• Government has set up the 6 major oil and
gas PSUs.
Contd…
My Firm Belief
•If the academia would stop looking down
upon the industry and vice versa, almost
anything is possible.
• The basic goal of academics is creation and
dissemination of knowledge through
education and research, freedom to pursue
new horizons without constraints of time and
immediate relevance. Contd…
•Professor’s time already well apportioned:
•Success judged based on originality of ideas and
innovations, conceptual elegance, etc.
•Education responsibility of academia but
‘product’ used by industry
• The basic goal of industry is to produce
and sell new products and processes.
• Success is judged by profit, market-share,
growth rate, etc.
• With these diversities, a synergy is possible.
Search for a Meeting Ground:
Academia’s expectations from industry
• Each major industry should develop a 20-year
R&D programme in association with one or
more academic institutions.
•US DOS meeting in 1991 on Future
Planning for R&D, a major Japanese
company unveiled its R&D plans for the next
100 years with midterm reviews.
Contd…
•
• Indian industries should set-up research
centres in close proximity to major institutions.
• Univ. of Michigan
• Case of Indian Navratna
•Provide funding for long-term research to
academic institutions.
• Equipment, technical staff, faculty time,
student fellowships.
• Industry should hire bright PhDs from reputed
institutions for their own R&D department.
• Second them to top research centres in India
and abroad.
• Give them enough space.
• Don’t expect results overnight.
• They will be able to interact with academia, and
produce worth while results.
• They altogether will never cost you as much as
an abandoned well. Contd…
• Penn Central Rail Road case 1970.
• Industry (and Academia) need to hire the best
and retain them.
• Look at the number of PhDs GE, Shell, etc.,
are hiring in India itself.
• Look at the highly interactive programme that
Schlumberger has with universities world wide
without expecting immediate paybacks.
• Old ICI and BG in UK allowed interested
senior member to go to universities two years
before retirement with full salary and perks.
• They would fund some projects under him.
• After 2 years, he got his pension and the
university salary.
• Such people have really done wonders
interacting with academics
(Ramshaw - New Castle, Kletz –Loughborough)
• Training courses for Indian industry by
academia and by foreign experts are common.
• Inform their schedule to concerned academia.
• Encourage them to nominate one or two
persons.
• Share the training material with the
educational institutions with trainer’s approval.
• Industry specialists to lecture to students on
practical aspects of industry.
• Give real industrial design and process
development problems as in many US
universities
• Guide the students to practical solutions.
• A consortium of major corporations should
fund ‘development of a technology that others
will buy’. Such efforts abroad have been amply
rewarded.
• Adapt SBIR of the US: 3 Phase process
Contd…
• Continued dependence on foreign technology
keeps us far behind.
• Makes our products uncompetitive internationally.
• In search of self-reliance a few decades ago, for
every dollar spent on imported technology, the
Japanese corporations spent several dollars for
upgrading it.
• Then exported it back to the developed countries.
• The Japanese corporations continue to spend a
sizable fraction of revenues on their research.
• Companies should have a cadre for scientists
and technocrats that parallels the management
or does better.
• Management will sell only when technologists
produce.
• At UOP, the top technical position is called UOP
Fellow.
• At IBM a Fellow used to be fully funded for
research for 5 years, no questions asked.
• Many fundamental discoveries produced,
resulted in Nobel prizes.
• Encourage co-operative programmes (BITS,
TIET).
• Like internship after MBBS course.
• Do no expect academics to reduce courses.
• It would adversely affect the basic knowledge
of the students.
• It was an unpleasant situation in 1980s to
reduce the 5-year engineering B Tech to 4
years after 10+2 education system.
• Its effects are still visible.
• Individual major companies should spend at
least 2% of revenue on futuristic R&D, not on
solving today’s problems.
• The whole of R&D will not cost as much an
abandoned well or a blowout.
• Such research might someday save a
blowout/ situations like abandoning a well, etc.
• The GOI probably charges cess on some
industries for funding R&D.
• That money should be regularly spent for
the purpose and not carried forward.
• The spend must be closely monitored.
• It would be good if academics, government
labs, industrial R&D centres would coordinate
their R&D in the applied areas.
• MoPNG may hold a meeting exclusively with
CSIR and other Government research labs.
• Then, short range problems would be solved by
companies’ in-house R&D.
• Medium range problems by CSIR and other
Government labs.
• Long range problems by academic institutions.
Coming to Academic Institutions:
•Academics should hire people with
industrial experience and give due credit.
• Those without such experience be sent to
industry for the summer or for an year.
• Case of RGIPT, NYUST.
• IITK: Summer High Level Consultancy
Programme.
• Academics should spend sabbaticals in industry
and industry experts in academics.
• Academics to appoint industry experts as
Adjunct faculty.
• Industry to appoint academicians as Adjunct
Scientist in their R&D/ Processing/ Training
departments.
• A proposal is to award ‘Doctorate of
Technology’ to a person who solves a major
technological application problem, parallel to
Ph. D for a fundamental problem.
• Academia is reluctant to give recognition to
applied work.
• “If you did something useful to industry, you must
not be good enough to do something better”.
• A single discipline or a single professor can
generally not solve the problems of industry.
• Multi-disciplinary work and inter-institution
cooperative work are very few.
• A critical mass (number) needed for doing R & D.
• Recognition by peers is for individual’s
achievements.
• Academia needs to learn the language of
industry:
• The balance sheet.
• The various direct and hidden costs.
• The loss of market if the product is sub-
standard or delayed, etc.
• Academia should have industry people on its
Board of Governors and Board of Studies.
• Industry should get an academician as an
Independent Director and on its R&D committee.
• Academia has to train students for a broad
range of industries.
• For example: Chemical Engineering.
• Graduate is fit for refining, fertilizer,
polymers, petrochemical, and other basic
chemical industries.
• Needs training by industry for its specific
needs.
• Probably at Master’s level there can be
courses specific to industries.
• Industries should first hire candidates and
then sponsor them for a Master’s degree.
• Companies can sponsor their existing
personnel for PG education at IITs. For
this, IITs have lowered their entrance
requirements.
PETROFED operated R&D and Capabilities website
Academia and R&D Labs to provide:Petroleum and energy related ongoing/completed research briefsEducation and training programmesTheir capabilities, and facilities available
Companies to provide:R& D programmes going on, including those with academiaEquipment and facilities availableTraining programmes for their staffProblems faced by industry that require academia input
Each Institute and Industry to have a coordinator. Quarterly update of website
CONCLUSIONS:
•Mutual respect and understanding of each
others’ priorities and goals
•Cross lecturing/ hiring/deputizing/ training
•Industry to strengthen own R&D
considerably, upgrade imported technology
•Involve CSIR labs more proactively
•Fund labs, equipment, library, faculty and
student scholarships in academia
•Develop long term joint research plans
•Set up research labs in proximity to Inst
• Several institutions do have a lot of
linkages with industry:
• Some are: ISM, BHU,BIT Mesra, UICT,
Jadavpur University, IISc, now IITs also.
•With the suggested approach, many more
and intense interactions will start.
•Petroleum Industry can show the way to the
rest of the country.
Next meeting not for similar brain storming
Discuss the status and results of joint projects
All industries and institutes must have a few by then
RGIPT would be glad to host it at Rae Bareli.