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The Indian Institute of Technology Palakkad (IIT Palakkad) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Autodesk, Inc. to foster immersive learning, research collaboration, and curriculum innovation in the fields of architecture, engineering, construction (AEC), and design and manufacturing.

The MoU was formally signed by Dr. A. Seshadri Sekhar, Director, IIT Palakkad, and Smitha Raghunathan, Interim Regional Director, Autodesk India & SAARC, during her visit to India, along with other executives from IIT Palakkad and Autodesk. The signing took place at the Autodesk India corporate headquarters in Bengaluru.

As part of the MoU, IIT Palakkad will collaborate with Autodesk and industry partners to establish a Center of Excellence (CoE) and a dedicated Digital Construction Laboratory on campus. This facility will provide students, faculty, and industry collaborators with access to Autodesk’s cloud-based Design and Make platforms, enabling hands-on learning and the practical application of advanced technologies such as building information modeling (BIM), generative design, and additive manufacturing. The initiative aims to deliver industry-oriented programs in BIM and digital construction, co-create research case studies that showcase technology-driven impact, and foster student-led innovation through dedicated incubation spaces within the Autodesk CoE.

Dr. A. Seshadri Sekhar, Director, IIT Palakkad, said, "We look forward to working together with Autodesk in developing a dynamic and impactful learning platform for our students. This strategic collaboration is in line with our mission to connect academic learning with real-world industrial practice, enabling our students and graduates to possess future-proof capabilities."

Smitha Raghunathan, Interim Regional Director, Autodesk India & SAARC, shared, "At Autodesk, we are committed to empowering tomorrow's leaders with the tools and know-how to realize their ambitions in meaningful ways. A testament to this comes in the form of our partnership with IIT Palakkad, which merges academic rigor with world-class tech to get students ready for the emerging challenges of design and make industries."

“This partnership with IIT Palakkad reflects our deep commitment to empowering the next generation of innovators in India. Our goal is to bridge the gap between education and industry, so students are not only ready for the future of work but also are prepared to lead it,” she added.

Through this collaboration, IIT Palakkad and Autodesk will integrate advanced digital technologies into academic curricula, strengthen faculty capabilities, and enhance student learning through hands-on, immersive experiences. By fostering applied learning, project-based assessments, and innovation challenges, the partnership aims to spark student-led innovation, nurture an entrepreneurial mindset, and contribute meaningfully to India’s evolving AEC as well as design and manufacturing ecosystem.

The partnership will also focus on curriculum development support and the rollout of student bootcamps, faculty development programs, and design competitions. Faculty members will be exposed to the latest trends in sustainable construction and design automation, with opportunities to pursue Autodesk Certified Professional (ACP) credentials.

Autodesk is committed to broadening access to software and technology training to the future workforce of these industries by providing its software solutions across infrastructure, construction, water, manufacturing, media, and entertainment for free to over 100 million students and educators across 160,000 educational institutions around the world. More than five million students in over 14,000 secondary and post-secondary schools across India use Autodesk’s software, learning how to train for in-demand skills.