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Manipal : Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM)signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal to set-up a Toyota Centre of Excellence at Manipal Institute of Technology for the benefit of its engineering students.

Talking of the benefits, MAHE Vice Chancellor, Dr H Vinod Bhat said, “The biggest advantage for our students is that they will be industry ready when they graduate. The Centre of Excellence will bring the industry and academia together for skill development and inter-action”.

“And that today, is of great importance to students,” he said and added, “Because tomorrow’s expectations in the industry are being talked about in today’s institutions, and that will make a difference. Students and graduates when they finish their colleges, they will find that they are already there”.

And that precisely is Toyota’s idea as well. With that in mind, TKM is planning to open similar centres of excellence across the country. Today’s pact with MAHE is their sixth in Karnataka. “The concept of establishing Toyota Centre of Excellence at various colleges and institutes is to reiterate Toyota’s commitment to upscaleskill sets and provide ready workforce to the automotive industry,” saidMr. Naveen Soni - Vice President - Toyota Kirloskar Motor.

“Through the network of Centres of Excellence in association with various colleges and institutes across the country, we can help drive the quality of training and provide more comprehensive learning opportunities for the students at the grass-root level. We at Toyota hope to empower the students to be industry ready with desired skill sets and competencies, while contributing to the nations’ growth and Industry’s employability ratio,” Mr Soni added.

In order to enablethe students gain an in depth knowledge of engine composition at the grass-root level, Toyota has handed over one cut section of the vehicle engine and an assembled engine to MAHE. The key focus is to provide comprehensive learning opportunities for the students, offering them a first-hand experience of a vehicle engine.

As a part of its commitment towards developing world class skilled workforce for the emerging Indian Auto Industry, Toyota in 2007 established the Toyota Technical Training Institute (TTTI) which offers a three-year rigorous full-time training in – Automobile Assembly, Automobile Paint, Automobile Weld and Mechatronics to financially challenged students hailing from Below Poverty Line (BPL) families from across Karnataka.

Present at the MoU exchange ceremony were, Dr. D. Srikanth Rao, Director, Manipal Institute of Technology, MAHE, Dr Sathish Shenoy, Director Research (Technical) and Head of Department Automobile Engineering MIT andMr. Raju B. Ketkale, Sr. Vice President, Toyota Kirloskar Motor .