Pilot Project for Discovery Park to start soon in Amethi

Lucknow, May 6 (UNI) The pilot project for state-of-the art Discovery Park, the first of its kind in the country and only second in the world, will be operational soon in Amethi, the parliamentary constituency of Rahul Gandhi.

The ground work for the Discovery Park to be established by Allahabad's Indian Institute of Information Technology (IIIT-A) in Amethi at a cost of Rs 400 crore is already in progress.

Conceptualised on the lines of Discovery Park in the University of Purdue in the United States, the only varsity in the world to have successfully experimented it, the IIIT-A is providing the techincal inputs of one of the most ambitious projects to be implemented in the country. The idea behind such project has been to facilitate the researches in the non-traditional fields like nano-technology, bio-informatics through Information Technology (IT) and to benefit the society directly through these scientific advancements.

A Centre of oncological sciences, an e-entrepreneurial development centre and a centre of micro-electronics are just a few in the long chain of institutes and labs that IIIT-A would establish as integral organs of the ambitious Discovery Park project. The oncological centre at the US Discovery Park has been doing wonders with the cancer patients and it would be a good news for cancer patients here.

A delegation of senior officials of the US Discovery Park, held a series of discussions over the configuration and contours of the proposed Discovery Park during a meeting in New Delhi more than a year ago. The meeting was attended by Officials of the Indian ministeries of Science and Technology, IT and Rural development, Director IIIT-A and in-charge of technology affairs at the Indian Consulate in the US Y P Kumar.

Dr M D Tiwari, director of IIIT-A told UNI over phone from Allahabad that the pilot project would start with a modest investement and the entire project would be taken up in the phases.

All the modalities for the project were being furnished to make it as a centre of excellence.

Dr Tiwari said the park would also have an Indo-Swiss centre for micro-electronics, an Indo-US centre for language technology, an Indo-Danish centre for wireless sensors and senses, a centre each for healthcare, robotics and nano-technology.

It would also serve as a mother institution for a chain of institutions coming up in Amethi, like the Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Petroleum Technology and a medical college.

He said the park would also take care of the entertainment of visitors with a sprawling amusement having the aim of imparting science education through entertainment.

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