Pushing back the boundaries of knowledge to benefit the whole of Indian society

In November 2017, La Fondation Dassault Systèmes set up an Indian arm focusing on training and research in the fields of agriculture, health care, renewable energies and cities. La Fondation’s work showcases ways in which we’re transforming how people learn and discover.

Better education means a better future. La Fondation supports various initiatives that are transforming Indian society: new educational approaches using learning methods based on innovative 3D teaching content, efforts to improve engineering skills and innovation in universities, and projects to promote an entrepreneurial culture among students.

Dassault Systèmes staff play an active role in these initiatives by volunteering their skills, which this is one of the key advantages of La Fondation in India. It targets four areas: agriculture, health care, renewable energies and the environment, and cities and infrastructure. It has started 15 projects since it was created, and we focus on three of them below.

With 1,120 teams taking part from 218 universities in 24 different Indian states, the scale of the Aakruti competition organized by La Fondation reflects that of the sub-continent. Aakruti is a Sanskrit word meaning shape, and the themes of the competition were improving the rural economy and protecting the environment. Fifty Dassault Systèmes volunteers were involved in the project.

Each team had to produce 3D designs of innovative products intended to address socially important subjects. The jury, consisting of experts from industry, academia and startup incubators, were highly impressed by the students’ designs. Each project also had to include a “do it yourself” manual, providing detailed instructions to village craftspeople about how to make the product.

India has a target of doubling the incomes of small farmers, who represent the vast majority of Indian farms, by 2022. To support them in an environmentally friendly and economically sustainable way, La Fondation helped Centurion University, which has high-level expertise in agriculture, to launch the Knowledge on Wheels program on January 15, 2019. Its aim is to train small farmers how to use new production techniques and agrotechnology.

To make it easier for the program to reach thousands of isolated villages, a van was fitted with a training system making use of virtual reality. The training program includes creating a digital farm, modeling and optimizing work done by agricultural machinery, and designing plowing routes. It also features modules on organic agriculture, precision irrigation and anaerobic rice-growing.

La Fondation is helping to set up a center for research and skills development in the field of solar power, working with Nagesh Karajagi Orchid College of Engineering, a technology institute that is part of Solapur University. The institute has a laboratory that teaches solar engineering and develops prototypes.

As well as research facilities, the center will offer courses to help students find work as engineers and technicians. The aim is to help young people develop skills in the solar industry, particularly in design, production, operation, mainte - nance and testing. The goal is to train 60 engineers and technicians per year. La Fondation has also supported the development of Solarium, a solar-powered vehicle designed and developed by engineering students at the Pimpri Chinchwad College of Engineering in Pune.