- Industry-academia partnership seeks to turn Kutch’s renewable-energy expansion into a local jobs and skills opportunity
- Centre of Excellence to train students in solar PV, wind, hybrid systems, BESS and digital-industrial automation
- Adani Group says green-energy investments must go hand in hand with investments in young people
- More than 21,000 direct and indirect jobs generated in Kutch by Adani’s green-energy activities over past two years
- Structured Learn–Practise–Experience–Certify–Career pathway to link classroom learning with industry requirements
NE EDUCATION BUREAU
BHUJ, OCT 4
Kutch’s spectacular renewable-energy expansion is now getting an equally ambitious talent pipeline, with Adani Skills & Education (ASE) and Kachchh University joining hands to create a Centre of Excellence (CoE) that will train more than 10,000 students every year in technologies expected to power the next generation of India’s energy economy.
The Centre of Excellence for Green Energy, inaugurated at the Kachchh University campus here on Sunday by Gujarat Governor Acharya Devvrat, marks a significant industry-academia intervention aimed at connecting higher education with the rapidly expanding renewable-energy ecosystem in the region.
The partnership assumes particular significance as Kutch emerges as one of India’s major renewable-energy hubs. The Adani Group said its green-energy activities have generated more than 21,000 direct and indirect jobs in Kutch over the past two years, creating an increasing need for trained personnel to build, operate and maintain large-scale renewable-energy infrastructure.
The new CoE is designed to bridge precisely that gap by taking industry requirements into the classroom and giving students exposure to technologies and skills relevant to the renewable-energy value chain.
‘Green energy must go hand in hand with young people’
Karan Adani, Director, Adani Group, said investments in green energy need to be matched by investments in the next generation of talent.
“The Adani Group’s endeavour has always been to work in sectors that will shape the future of India. Green energy is one such sector — critical for both the nation’s progress and our future generations.”
He said the Centre would prepare students not merely for existing employment opportunities but also for emerging global careers.
“This global Centre of Excellence will ensure that students are equipped not only for today’s jobs, but also for the emerging new opportunities across India and the world.”
The CoE will offer specialised programmes covering Solar PV Technologies, Wind Energy Systems, Hybrid Systems, Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS), and Digital & Industrial Automation.
Beyond technical training, the facility will support applied research and entrepreneurship, creating scope for students to explore solutions relevant to the renewable-energy sector and potentially develop them into enterprises.
From classroom to clean-energy careers
Robin Bhowmik, Chief Executive Officer, Adani Skills & Education, said the rapid growth of renewable energy had created a workforce challenge that industry and educational institutions must jointly address.
“The renewable energy industry is growing quickly, but the specialised workforce needed to support it is not keeping pace. That is the gap we want to address.”
He said the partnership with Kachchh University would bring industry requirements into the academic environment while providing students with practical exposure.
“By working with Kachchh University, we can bring industry requirements into the classroom, give students practical exposure to the technologies they will work with and help them move from education to employment.”
The CoE will adopt a structured “Learn, Practise, Experience, Certify and Career” pathway, combining classroom instruction with simulation-based and practical learning.
Training for the energy architecture of tomorrow
The curriculum will span the technologies underpinning modern renewable-energy systems, including solar PV, wind energy, renewable-energy integration, BESS, microgrids and digital systems.
Students will also be exposed to Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems used for monitoring and controlling industrial equipment, along with Internet of Things (IoT)-based energy data systems and smart-grid technologies.
The emphasis on these emerging technologies is significant as renewable energy increasingly moves beyond individual solar or wind installations towards integrated systems involving energy storage, digital monitoring, grid management and hybrid generation.
Khavda puts Kutch at centre of energy transition
The CoE comes against the backdrop of India’s ambitious clean-energy expansion and Kutch’s emergence as a major centre of that transition.
India is targeting 500 GW of non-fossil fuel-based capacity by 2030, a scale-up that is expected to generate substantial demand for specialised technical and managerial skills.
At Khavda, the Adani Group is developing a 30-GW renewable-energy park spread across 538 sqkm. The scale of the project—described as around five times the size of Paris—illustrates the magnitude of the infrastructure and workforce requirements being created in Kutch.
The new Centre of Excellence seeks to ensure that young people in the region are positioned to participate in this transformation rather than remaining spectators to a large industrial expansion taking place in their own backyard.
Industry-academia model with wider ambitions
The initiative forms part of ASE’s broader effort to build a scalable talent ecosystem for sectors considered critical to India’s future growth.
For Kachchh University students, the partnership offers access to industry-linked training, practical experience, research opportunities and entrepreneurship pathways, while for the renewable-energy industry it offers a potential local pool of skilled talent.
The larger proposition is clear: Kutch’s renewable-energy revolution will need more than land, capital and infrastructure—it will need people with the skills to build, operate, digitise and continuously innovate the energy systems of tomorrow.
The ASE–Kachchh University partnership seeks to make the region’s young workforce an integral part of that transformation.
