NICCI, IIT Roorkee sign MoU to collaborate on renewable energy

KATHMANDU: Nepal-India Chamber of Commerce and Industry (NICCI) and the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee (IITR) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to collaborate on renewable energy and related technologies, including solar, energy storage, green hydrogen, microgrids, capacity-building training, and academia–industry linkages.

NICCI Director General KM Singh and IITR Dean Professor Vivek Kumar Malik signed the MoU on behalf of their respective institutions. Under the agreement, IIT Roorkee’s Centre for Sustainable Energy will offer courses and workshops for NICCI members.

NICCI will support IITR in organising hackathons and exhibitions to engage prospective students in emerging technologies, with such events to be held periodically as per agreed terms.

“We need stronger and reliable partners for NICCI in the days to come,” NICCI President Sunil K C said after the signing of the MoU. “NICCI is bridging the gap between the industry and academia by collaborating with the best institutions in the country and in the region,” he said, adding that the partnership will support Nepal’s energy sector. “Along with increasing investment, skilled manpower is a must for economic growth. Thus, NICCI–IIT Roorkee collaboration will give renewable energy development a push.”

NICCI, a bi-national chamber, works with government and non-government bodies in Nepal and India and connects entrepreneurs and stakeholders in both countries to facilitate strategic partnerships and ventures.

IIT Roorkee said it will leverage its academic and research and development resources across faculty and laboratories to deliver on project mandates executed with industry and other end-users. The MoU states that the relationship will be mutually beneficial to both organisations.

Established in 1847 as Roorkee College, IIT Roorkee is Asia’s oldest engineering institution and has educated many of Nepal’s first generation of engineers. It has played a role in advancing India’s technological landscape, fostering industrial growth, and shaping policies in infrastructure, water resources, energy, and sustainability.