PUNE: The Savitribai Phule Pune University may soon get a 6,000sqft Centre for Industry 4.0(C4i4) laboratory equipped with Iot (Internet of Things) lab, experience centres, data centre server and mobile demo kits.

Vice-chancellor Nitin Karmalkar said the university's students will get internships through the Industry 4.0 lab. The industries, too, will receive assistance for training from various departments, he said.

The centre, a part of the project under the department of heavy industries, aims to provide education on smart manufacturing technologies and develope capabilities with manufacturing technologies and develop capabilities with manufacturers to innovate and compete. Currently, there are four such centres at IIT-Delhi, IISc-Bengaluru and CMTI-Bengaluru, and C4i4 Lab, Pune. The Kirloskar group heads the project in Pune

"The Kirloskar group was keen to carry out the project in collaboration with an educational institute and that is when we came into the picture. They had sent a proposal three-four months ago. The group has a small prototype in place near Karve Road, but we are giving them space to relocate on the campus at an existing building with 6,0000sqft space and with over Rs 6 crore worth of instrumentation facility," said Karmalkar.

Avinash Joshi, chief executive officer, SPPU Research Park Foundation, said, "Bringing prototypes of factory models on campus will offer multiple benefits to students and teachers. Students will be able to see and experience the practical application of knowledge gleaned through textbooks," he said.