Amity University Uttar Pradesh, Noida Campus, in collaboration with IN-SPACe & ISRO Department of Space, Govt. of India, is organizing a Short-Term Skill Development Course on “Essentials of Space Technology in Agriculture”, from 27th July to 01st August 2025. The skill development program aims to provide the participants with valuable insights on space applications in agriculture, through interactive expert-led sessions, and networking opportunity with leading space and agri-tech stakeholders.
A total of 60 participants from various institutes and organizations across the country, such as D.K.T.E. Society's Textile and Engineering Institute, Rajwada, Hindustan Shipyard Limited, Gandhigram, Visakhapatnam, Meerut Institute of Technology, Inderprastha Engineering College Ghaziabad, IIT Kanpur, among others, participated in the Program.
Inaugurating the Program, Chief Guest, Shri. Rajendra Agarwal, Former Member of Parliament, said, “NEP 2020 emphasizes upon the revival of the education system and skill development. India has a smaller number of skilled professionals as compared to other countries, therefore, it is crucial to focus on skill development. In addition, the career aspirations of the students should be aligned with self-employment, and they must aim to become job providers. Rural population is rapidly moving towards the cities in search of employment opportunities, since agriculture does not provide them with adequate financial security. Therefore, it is important to develop the skills of the scientists, professionals and researchers so that they can contribute to the growth of the agriculture sector, making India a self-reliant and developed country.”
Addressing the participants, Prof. (Dr.) Balvinder Shukla, Vice Chancellor, Amity University Uttar Pradesh, said, “We are extremely honoured to organize this Program in collaboration with INSPACe since Space Technology plays a very important role in agriculture. Agriculture is a very important sector, therefore, the farmers should be provided with all the benefits, and their income should be increased by five times. Agricultural productivity must be enhanced, and the use of Space Technology will be instrumental in contributing immensely to the agriculture sector.”
Sharing his views on this occasion, Dr. Vinod Kumar Director, PD, IN-SPACe, averred, “Space applications have a growing role to play in strengthening India’s agricultural capabilities and resilience. With the help of these applications and geospatial data, farmers can monitor crop health, optimize the use of fertilizers and irrigation, detect pest infestations early, manage fields with precision using GPS-guided machinery, better respond to weather risks and natural disasters, and improve overall farm productivity and decision-making. Through these academic collaborations, we aim to build awareness, share technical know-how, and create a pool of professionals who can apply space-based tools to real-world challenges. These courses are designed to bridge knowledge gaps and encourage deeper engagement from academia and young professionals in space applications across critical sectors.”
Sharing details of the Amity Space Mission, Dr W. Selvamurthy President, Amity Science Technology Innovation Foundation, said, “Amity University is extensively involved in space-related missions such as the Amity Plant Experimental Module in Space (APEMS), under ISRO's Spadex mission, through which a biological payload was sent to space to study plant growth in microgravity. Amity actively participates in space design competitions, fosters research in astrobiology, and collaborates with various organizations such as ISRO and National Remote Sensing Center, to promote space science and technology. We are certain that this Skill Development Program will be highly beneficial for all the participants, thereby contributing to the mission of Viksit Bharat@2047.”
On this occasion a Souvenir comprising of the details of the Program, was released. In addition, a Keynote Talk on “Foundational Space-based technologies for sustainable agriculture” was delivered by Dr. Soumya Bandyopadhyay Director Mahalanobsis National Crop Forecast Centre, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, was delivered.
During the six-day Programme, Technical Sessions on “Integrated Watershed management & planning using EO data towards sustainable agriculture”, “Use of Space Technology in Crop Health Management”, “Advances in sensing and analytics for precision agriculture”, “Fundamentals of phytotron technology and its applications”, and many others will be conducted.