Schneider Electric Centre of Excellence to be set up at the New Horizon College of Engineering in Bangalore

New Delhi: Schneider Electric, the global specialist in energy management and automation, announced the setting up of a Centre of Excellence (CoE) situated in the premise of New Horizon College of Engineering (NHCE) in Bangalore, India. The Training Centre will carry out vocational training programmes in initial and continuing education in the fields of electricity, automation and energy management. The tripartite MoU was signed between the The French Ministry of National Education, represented by Mme. Marianne de Brunhoff, Director to European and international relations and cooperation of the French Ministry of National Education, Schneider Electric India Private Limited, represented by Mr. Shrinivas Chebbi, President, Partner & Eco Buildings, and NHCE which was represented by Dr. Mohan Maghnani, Chairman. The agreement was signed in Bengaluru.

Commenting on the signing of the MoU Shrinivas Chebbi, President, Partner & Eco Buildings, Schneider Electric, stated, “The CoE is a result of a common desire to develop, within an international framework of “academic-industry” links, training programmes in continuing education for technical teachers, training of young engineers and technicians and to prepare them for the job market in the field of electricity, automation and energy management. In addition, the program will also allow to train customers of Schneider Electric. The effort is to bridge the skills gap in the country”

Building strong industry-academia linkages
The Training Centre will carry out vocational training programmes in initial and continuing education in the fields of Electricity, automation and energy management, including the following:
· Training courses will be modules from a few weeks to a few months depending on the subject and the level of the training decided in mutual discussion between all the parties.

· Modules for trainers to upgrade skills to be up to date with the latest technology and practices, practical and pedagogical.

· Training of trainer’s guide. The training centre will primarily focus on training the trainers and students

· The training centre will be open to all customers of SEI from requests from SEI in consultation with Governing Board.

· The training centre will be the strong link between academic and industry by facilitating conferences, visits, experts from Schneider Electric who will organise conferences on specific topics.

Talking on the sidelines of the signing of the MoU Michel Le Devehat, the French Ministry of National Education, said, “I am delighted to pool resources and expertise to upgrade knowledge and professional skills of teachers, students and customers by organising training programmes in initial and continuing education and offering specialised French Professors to be part of this effort. We are a partner in the growth aspirations of India.” The French Ministry of Education will appoint the professor for a long term overseas assignment at the CoE, the Professor will also act as a director for the Centre.

The NHCE shall offer development of a course of study for training of trainers in rapidly evolving sectors in terms of technology and teaching methods in partnership with companies. Dr. Mohan Manghnani, Chairman, NHCE shared his views at the setting up of the CoE and stated, “We are delighted to be part of this partnership in technical education with the world leader in electricity, automation and energy management and look forward to creating a platform for the development of a course of study for training of trainers in rapidly evolving sectors in terms of technology and teaching methods in partnership with them and the French Government. We look forward to the rich learnings.”

For the parties signing this MOU, the aims are to collate resources and expertise in order to upgrade knowledge and professional skills of teachers, students and customers of SEI in initial and continuing education, ensuring sustainable access to the job market for engineers and technicians in the field of electricity, automation and energy management.