ISRO to launch space institute from this academic year

Bangalore, Apr 11 (UNI) Stung by serious manpower shortage with the Information Technology sector hijacking the cream of Indian engineering talent, the Indian Space Researach Organisation (ISRO) from this academic year will start a space technology institute to partially meet its manpower needs for future space programmes.

ISRO was awaiting the approval of the Union Human Resources Development Ministry for its proposal, aimed at having an intake of 150 students at the institute to be located at Thiruvananthapuram, ISRO Chairman G Madhavan Nair told newspersons here today.

''We will provide specialised courses,'' he said, adding that besides inhouse faculty, ISRO would hire outside academicians for imparting training to students who would be picked up at the pre-university level and given indepth training in space engineering and space sciences.

Dr Nair lamented that though the attrition level at ISRO was only seven per cent compared to 25 per cent of the IT sector, it was not able to get bright students as the IT sector picked up the the best of the lot of students from engineering colleges. These bright youngsters, however, were not being used to their full potential by the IT sector.

Admitting that lack of manpower was posing a major problem, he said ISRO offered a pay package that would provide for a comfortable living, but not a luxurious life.

UNI