UST and BITS Pilani Partner for Deep Tech Innovation

UST, a digital transformation solutions company, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS) Pilani, one of India’s premier higher education institutions. This academic-industry collaboration, formally exchanged at UST’s Thiruvananthapuram Campus, outlines a multi-dimensional partnership focused on innovation, talent nurturing, and joint research to bridge academia and industry for solutions with real-world impact.

The partnership aims to focus on advanced research and co-creation in frontier domains such as Photonics, Quantum Computing, VLSI, Humanoid Robotics, Artificial Intelligence, and MedTech. Through joint research programs, patents, Proof of Concept (PoCs) projects, and commercialization-ready products will be developed under the shared guidance of UST’s engineering experts and BITS Pilani’s academic leadership.

The MoU exchange was attended by Alexander Varghese, Chief Operating Officer, UST; Gilroy Mathew, SVP & Global Head of Engineering, UST; Shilpa Menon, Center Head – Trivandrum; Sarath Raj, Senior Director & Head – HR BSE-APAC; Ashok G Nair, Bhavesh Sasirajan, Deepti Sujatha, and Nikitha Bahadur from UST. Prof. Sanket Goel, Dean (R&I) and Dr. Praloy Mondal, Program Manager, CREST, were present on behalf of BITS Pilani.

Fostering Industry-Aligned Talent and Solutions

Speaking on the occasion, Gilroy Mathew, Senior Vice President and Global Head of Engineering, UST, said, “Partnering with BITS Pilani brings together two innovation-driven institutions, and I believe this collaboration will offer a platform for students and faculty to engage in meaningful and industry-aligned innovation. At UST, we’ve built deep capabilities across semiconductor design, intelligent mobility, and AI-driven digital engineering, and we’re excited to bring that expertise into this partnership. More than developing cutting-edge solutions, we believe that this MoU will help nurture talent, exposing them to next-generation technologies and translating research into real-world outcomes. We look forward to building a strong bridge between academia and industry to drive scalable, lasting impact.”

Prof. Sanket Goel, Dean – Research & Innovation, BITS Pilani, added, “This MoU is a significant step toward strengthening the connection between academia and industry. Collaborating with UST will give our students and faculty valuable exposure to real-world challenges and emerging technologies. We believe this partnership will not only foster innovation but also enhance the practical learning experience for our students, equipping them with the skills needed to thrive in a rapidly evolving tech landscape.”

Comprehensive Collaboration for Future Technologies

As part of this collaboration, UST will co-develop research programs aligned with pressing industry problems, provide technical mentorship, enable prototyping infrastructure, and support the commercialization of innovation outcomes. Areas of cooperation also include semiconductor testing, data-driven engineering, cloud computing, sustainable technologies, and AI-powered industrial solutions. UST will additionally engage with the BITS Pilani placement cell to recruit emerging talent while participating in curriculum design and faculty development efforts. UST will also offer structured internships for final and pre-final year students.

This collaboration also underscores UST’s commitment to advancing engineering R&D on a global scale. With deep expertise across semiconductor design, software-defined mobility, smart manufacturing, and immersive technologies, UST delivers AI-integrated solutions from chip to cloud. Together, these capabilities position UST as a global leader in delivering adaptive, next-generation engineering solutions.

UST, with expertise in AI/ML for semiconductor validation, automotive predictive maintenance, autonomous driving simulations, and robotic actuators, can drive applied research by sharing real-world datasets and industry challenges. This partnership will leverage BITS Pilani’s AI ecosystem to co-develop market-ready solutions, upskill talent, and advance India’s automotive and robotics sector.

The MoU is poised to drive lasting impact by embedding innovation, agility, and industry relevance into the academic ecosystem, empowering students and faculty to make meaningful contributions. This strategic collaboration with BITS Pilani marks yet another step in UST’s journey to shape the future of deep-tech innovation and India’s talent force.