Over 200 institutes have signed the Memorandum of Understanding for implementation of the scheme

In an initiative to create a bridge between the institutes and industry, technical institutes across the country, including Indian Institute of Technology (IITs), National Institute of Technology (NITs), and other All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) approved Engineering Colleges, have associated with the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) to adopt nearby stretches of the National Highway voluntarily.

The adopted stretches will be used as a field of study for the faculty, researchers, and familiarize students of the Institute with the latest trends in the industry. This will also lead to cooperation between the Institutes and the NHAI for the dissemination of respective expertise on the field of Civil/highway engineering on National Highway Projects.

So far 18 IITs, 26 NITs, and 190 other reputed Engineering colleges have opted for the scheme. Over 200 institutes have signed the Memorandum of Understanding for implementation of the scheme, according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Education.

Under the initiative, the partner institutes are expected to study improvement prospects in safety, maintenance, riding comfort, removal of congestion points and usages of new technologies, etc. on the adopted stretches and give suitable suggestions to NHAI for consideration, said the statement.

“The Institutes will also associate with the NHAI during conceptualization, design and project preparation of new projects and suggest the relevant parameters and innovations based on experience specific to the site climate, topography and resource potential for the better socio-economic outcome,” it said.

Further, the initiative will instill a sense of contribution to building local infrastructure among the student's fraternity.

According to the official release, NHAI will offer an internship to 20 Undergraduate and 20 Postgraduate students of the institutes per year. The duration of the internship shall be 2 months per student in a year and the undergraduate students will be paid Rs 8000 per month while the post-graduate students will be paid Rs 15000 per month.

NHAI will also support the creation of Lab infrastructure in the institute and may sponsor a relevant research project that helps in using alternative resource material and improving the quality of roads.

It is expected that more than 300 Institutes offering Civil Engineering UG and PG courses will adopt NH stretches all over the country.