SDG 9: Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure

SDG 9.1Research and technology for industry

UPES builds the research facilities, partnerships and intellectual property that let new technology move from the lab into industry.

2,314+patents, designs and copyrights

139intellectual property rights granted

₹50 crorefor an AI Centre of Excellence

₹5.15 croreDRDO project on battery storage for microgrids

The figures below cover UPES research publications on industry, innovation and infrastructure from 2021 to 2025 (source: Scopus, October 2026).

1,191industry and innovation research publications, 2021–2025

25,808citations to these papers

21.7citations per paper

696journal articles and reviews

What the research covers

Number of 2021–2025 papers on each theme (a paper can appear under more than one).

Theme	Papers
Advanced materials and manufacturing	345
Energy systems and clean technology	293
IoT, networks and cybersecurity	286
AI, machine learning and data	189
Civil, transport and infrastructure	147
Innovation, business and supply chains	140
Industry 4.0/5.0 and automation	129
Aerospace and space technology	36

Most cited work

Hydrogen: A sustainable fuel for future of the transport sector (Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 2015), cited 819 times.
A review on fundamentals, constraints and fabrication techniques of superhydrophobic coatings (Progress in Organic Coatings, 2020), cited 479 times.
Quantum computing: A taxonomy, systematic review and future directions (Software - Practice and Experience, 2022), cited 459 times.
IoT based smart parking system (2016 International Conference on Internet of Things and Applications, IOTA 2016, 2016), cited 404 times.
Exploring the effect of digital transformation on Firms’ innovation performance (Journal of Innovation and Knowledge, 2023), cited 367 times.

The full list of 1,631 publications since 2007, with links, is on the industry and innovation research publications page (also available as a spreadsheet).

Research spotlights

Defence-grade energy storage

DRDO awarded UPES, with IIT Roorkee and NIT Rourkela, a ₹5.15 crore project led by Prof Devender K. Saini to develop battery energy storage, an indigenous battery management system and a smart inverter for solar-charged microgrids in high-altitude regions such as Siachen and Ladakh. It is the first such DRDO project entrusted to a private university.

R&D Newsletter Jul–Dec 2025, p. 6

Waste to methanol at pilot scale

With a ₹97.4 lakh ANRF grant, Dr Siddharth Jain's team is scaling technology that gasifies municipal waste and converts it into methanol from laboratory to pilot scale (technology readiness level 3 to 6), supporting the Swachh Bharat Mission and India's National Methanol Policy.

R&D Newsletter Jul–Dec 2025, p. 7

Facilities that industry can use

Batteries and energy storage. A DST-FIST Battery Testing and Battery Management System Laboratory, funded under the Department of Science and Technology's FIST programme, supports the design, manufacture and testing of battery packs.
Materials. A DST-FIST grant of ₹2 crore supports an intelligent materials centre, and the Central Instrumentation Centre gives researchers from across the country access to instruments such as XRD, GC-MS, ICP-OES, FT-IR, TGA/DSC, HPLC, a sputtering system, a 3D printer and a laser cutter.
Artificial intelligence. In 2024 UPES earmarked ₹50 crore for an AI Centre of Excellence with high-end servers, GPUs and TPUs that can host more than 50 researchers at once. The Machine Intelligence Research Centre already offers high-performance computing for AI and data science.

Research centres

Dedicated centres and shared laboratories bring researchers from different disciplines together. UPES reports 46 of its researchers on Stanford's list of the world's top 2% of scientists.

Centre for Interdisciplinary Research and Innovation (CIDRI). Cross-disciplinary research, working with industry and hospitals on translational research.
Centre for Alternative Energy Research (CAER). Biofuels, plastic-waste-to-energy and microalgae biofuels.
Machine Intelligence Research Centre (MIRC), the Centre for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence and the Speech and Language Research Centre (SLRC). Research in artificial intelligence, data science and language.
Shared facilities. The Central Instrumentation Centre, a Waste-Paper Recycling Laboratory and a Medicinal and Aromatic Plants laboratory, both of which also train rural women, and the Himalayan Institute for Learning and Leadership, which works on sustainable development in the Himalayan region.

Conferences and research collaborations

IPR and innovation. With the DPIIT IPR Chair at IIT Roorkee, the School of Business hosted ICIPR-2025, the International Conference on Intellectual Property Rights and Innovation: Pathways to Viksit Bharat, on 26–27 September 2025, bringing policymakers, industry leaders, academics and innovators together on how IP can drive India's development.
Cybersecurity. The School of Computer Science hosted ICACSDF 2025, the International Conference on Advancement in Cyber Security and Digital Forensics, with academia, industry and government, covering blockchain, AI-driven threat intelligence and cloud forensics.
Space. The School of Advanced Engineering organised the 1st International Space Convention with the 4th National Space Convention (Renaissance 4.0) on 13–15 November 2025, with support from AIAA, ISRO, ASI, ISpA and SIA-India.
AI and health care. A University of Malta delegation explored joint research on AI in health care, including transcriptomics, OCR and natural language processing for medical records, data collaboration with Malta's Ministry of Health, and student exchanges. A UPES computer scientist also presented a deep-learning model for detecting knee osteoarthritis at IEEE EMBC 2025 in Copenhagen.
Visiting experts. Researchers from CentraleSupélec (Paris-Saclay) on machine learning in earthquake engineering, London South Bank University on AI medical imaging and structural design, Ben-Gurion University on technology in wildlife research, and the University of Malaya on quantum computing in precision medicine.

Working with national research bodies

DRDO. On 19 July 2024 UPES held a joint workshop on materials research for defence with DRDO's Defence Materials and Stores Research and Development Establishment. At the Materializing Innovations-III workshop, the Defence Institute of Bio-Energy Research identified 15 potential areas for collaboration with UPES, including renewable energy and sustainable aviation fuel.
Hydrogen. Mission Innovation's report on hydrogen research in India names UPES among the country's hydrogen research institutions.
Public health. With Mahavir Cancer Sansthan, Patna, UPES is part of an ICMR project assessing the disease burden in populations exposed to arsenic and pesticides in the Gangetic plains of Bihar.
From idea to IP. The IPR Cell helps researchers protect their work, while SEED funds research and market-driven innovation, Anusandhan builds research capacity and SHODH supports student entrepreneurship.

Sources and further reading

SDG 9.2Working with industry

UPES partners with companies and hospitals to solve real problems, train engineers for modern manufacturing and give students live industry experience.

HCLTech. A December 2023 MoU to co-develop AI, machine learning, IoT and cloud solutions for oil and gas exploration and production, operational safety and lower-carbon energy, with internships and job opportunities for UPES students and researchers.
AIIMS Rishikesh. Since December 2021, an MoU for joint research in microbiology, biochemistry and clinical research.
Bajaj Engineering Skills Training (BEST) Centre. A CSR initiative of Bajaj Auto with UPES on the Bidholi campus trains graduate and diploma engineers in mechatronics, motion control and sensors, robotics and automation, and Industry 4.0, with scholarship support for students from economically weaker sections.
Cloud and AI skills with AWS. From 26 to 30 May 2025 the School of Computer Science hosted AWS Innovate Week, the first time AWS combined Cloud Quest, track-based bootcamps, a generative AI day and AWS Jam in a single week with an academic institution. UPES also co-hosted AWS Community Day Dehradun 2025 with the AWS User Group Dehradun.
Uttarakhand's first Salesforce Talent Hub. Launched at Salesforce Day @ UPES with support from Wipro, TCS and IBM, the hub trains students in AI, data, cloud and automation on the Salesforce platform.
India's first JustTech Innovation Hub. The School of Law and Jupitice Justice Technology launched a hub for justice technology, alternative and online dispute resolution, with research, internships, training and tech-enabled justice services.
Immersive learning. With the INSEAD XR Lab, the School of Business piloted extended-reality business simulations, including Mission to Mars and the Avocado Shake case.
Industry dialogue. The first DrishtiKone, an industry–academia day, brought leaders from Microsoft, Airbus, Honeywell, Deloitte, PepsiCo, ONGC, TE Connectivity, Quick Heal and others to discuss future skills and India's innovation journey. Masterclasses by a former ONGC Chief General Manager on procurement in exploration and production, and by HPCL on petroleum retailing, bring the energy industry into the classroom.
Industry in the curriculum. Through Industry Connect, partner companies co-design and co-develop course modules, co-deliver them through their own experts and co-certify the programmes.

A poster for the Bajaj Engineering Skills Training centre at UPES — The Bajaj Engineering Skills Training (BEST) Centre on the Bidholi campus.

Sources and further reading

SDG 9.3Innovation and start-ups

UPES gives students, alumni, school pupils and local innovators the support to turn ideas into ventures.

250+start-ups incubated by Runway since 2021

₹20 crore+raised by Runway start-ups

1,200+participants at UHackathon 4.0

25+institutes at Udbhav 2025 state hackathon

Runway Incubator. Mentoring, seed funding and networks for early-stage ventures. More than 250 start-ups have been incubated since Runway's launch in 2021, and UPES received a ₹5 crore grant under NIDHI i-TBI for an inclusive technology business incubator.
The Pitch. An investor showcase where early-stage ventures in renewable energy, health technology, education technology and deep-tech security pitch to a jury of academic leaders and investors; four start-ups won funding in 2025.
UHackathon. The School of Computer Science's 24-hour hackathon drew more than 1,200 participants in over 350 teams from India and abroad in 2023; KPMG India presented job opportunities, and a team from the University of Konstanz, Germany, won the international teams' award.
Udbhav 2025. UPES hosted Level II of the Uttarakhand AI Mission's state hackathon, with innovators from more than 25 institutes presenting solutions in AI, generative AI, IoT, blockchain, extended reality and robotics.
Pre-incubation grants. After mentoring, prototyping, company incorporation and pitch training, 30 start-ups in Runway's fourth pre-incubation cohort pitched for their first grant, and six received microgrants.
Young Founder Summit 2025. Runway hosted school students from Chandigarh, Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh for three days of start-up workshops, elevator pitches, a marketing masterclass and a visit to UCOST.
Alumni building industry. Aerospace engineering alumnus Prashanth Sharma (2017–21) was named in Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia 2025 in the Industry, Manufacturing and Energy category for his work on India's space ecosystem.
Future Founders Challenge. A national entrepreneurship competition run by the School of Business and Runway for students in Classes 9 to 12, with mentoring, online workshops and prizes of up to ₹1 lakh.
Grassroots innovation. Since 2015, Project Vikalp's Rural Women Technology Park has helped women from nearby villages make recycled-paper products and ICT-assisted art and craft designs, grow medicinal and aromatic plants, and market what they produce.

Dignitaries and winners pose on stage at the Udbhav 2025 ceremony — Udbhav 2025, the Uttarakhand AI Mission state hackathon hosted by UPES.

Poster for the workshop Fostering Innovation and Growth in MSMEs and Startups through IPR — A September 2025 workshop on intellectual property for MSMEs and start-ups.

Sources and further reading

SDG 9.4Sustainable and digital infrastructure

UPES's own campus is a working testbed for clean energy, water recycling and digital learning.

Clean energy. A 100 kW solar plant has met about 8% of campus electricity demand, alongside solar water heating plants with a capacity of 61,500 litres. UPES has a policy of retrofitting conventional lights, and maintains a unity power factor at its sites to avoid energy losses.
Water recycling. UPES describes itself as a zero-water-discharge campus with 550 kilolitres a day of recycling capacity, and has reused 250 kilolitres of recycled water in horticulture. A pilot integrated wastewater reclamation plant uses microalgae to treat sewage and produce bio-oil, biogas and bio-manure.
Digital learning. UPES ON, inaugurated on 14 September 2023 by Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and Uttarakhand minister Dr Dhan Singh Rawat, offers online degrees and certificates for working professionals, with AI built into the curriculum.

Sources and further reading

SDG 9.5Capacity for the region and the nation

UPES shares its expertise beyond campus through professional education and partnerships on emerging fields.

ESG skills for industry. The RISE Centre, a joint initiative of UPES and Aspire Impact inaugurated in September 2024, ran an ESG, sustainability and impact specialist programme with Mahindra University: 32 hours over four days, 20 thematic sessions and more than 50 caselets for mid- and senior-level professionals in corporate ESG, banking and finance, CSR and policy.
Defence and energy research. Collaborations with DRDO laboratories link UPES researchers with national work on advanced materials, energy storage and sustainable aviation fuel.
Digital education for India. UPES ON and programmes such as the BBA and MBA in Digital Business, the BA in Data, Analytics and Visualization and the B.Des in Game Design respond to national digital and skills priorities.
Executive and community learning. UPES hosts delegations and visiting experts that bring international practice into executive education, such as the Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers, London, for maritime, logistics and energy professionals, and student chapters run events such as AICWiC'25, the ACM India Celebration of Women in Computing.

Sources and further reading

Events and activities

132 events from UPES schools, departments and student groups support this goal. Most link to the original LinkedIn post. Events that were not published online have a separate event report (PDF) with a description and photographs.

School of Advanced Engineering · 15 September 2025

WAAI'25: Workshop on Advances in Automotive Industry

The Mechanical Cluster and the SAE India UPES Collegiate Club ran a workshop on emerging technologies and the future of the automotive sector, with hands-on sessions at GarageX.

SDG 4SDG 9

Event report (PDF) ↓

School of Advanced Engineering

Alumnus named in Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia 2025

Prashanth Sharma, a B.Tech Aerospace Engineering graduate (2017–2021), was listed in the Industry, Manufacturing and Energy category for his work on the space ecosystem.

SDG 8SDG 9

Event report (PDF) ↓

School of Advanced Engineering · 23 August 2025

National Space Day 2025

The school marked National Space Day, which commemorates Chandrayaan-3's landing near the Moon's south pole on 23 August 2023.

SDG 9SDG 17

Source	Type	Used in
UPES R&D Newsletter, July–December 2025	PDF	9.1 Research and technology for industry
UPES research facilities, institutes and centres	Website	9.1 Research and technology for industry
UPES research infrastructure	Website	9.1 Research and technology for industry
UPES Research	Website	9.1 Research and technology for industry
UPES research projects	Website	9.1 Research and technology for industry
UPES earmarks ₹50 crore for an AI Centre of Excellence	Website	9.1 Research and technology for industry
DMSRDE and UPES workshop	Website	9.1 Research and technology for industry
Materializing Innovations-III: DIBER-DRDO and UPES workshop	Website	9.1 Research and technology for industry
Mission Innovation: hydrogen R&D in India	PDF	9.1 Research and technology for industry
UPES and SDG 9: industry, innovation and infrastructure	Website	9.4 Sustainable and digital infrastructure 9.5 Capacity for the region and the nation
HCLTech and UPES collaborate on oil and gas solutions	Press release	9.2 Working with industry
UPES ties up with AIIMS, DEI and Taipei Medical University	Website	9.2 Working with industry
UPES BEST Centre	Website	9.2 Working with industry
UPES Industry Connect	Website	9.2 Working with industry
UPES Start-Up University	Website	9.3 Innovation and start-ups
UPES fuels start-up dreams at The Pitch	News article	9.3 Innovation and start-ups
UPES announces winners of UHackathon 4.0	News article	9.3 Innovation and start-ups
Future Founders Challenge 2025	News article	9.3 Innovation and start-ups
Project Vikalp	Website	9.3 Innovation and start-ups
How UPES is contributing to the SDGs	Website	9.4 Sustainable and digital infrastructure
UPES ON inaugurated	News article	9.4 Sustainable and digital infrastructure
The RISE Centre at UPES launches sustainability programme	News article	9.5 Capacity for the region and the nation
UPES executive education on ESG, sustainability and impact	News article	9.5 Capacity for the region and the nation
RISE Centre at UPES	Website	9.5 Capacity for the region and the nation
UPES industry and innovation research publications: full list	Publication list	9.1 Research and technology for industry
Event report: WAAI'25: Workshop on Advances in Automotive Industry	Event report (PDF)	9.2 Working with industry
Event report: Alumnus named in Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia 2025	Event report (PDF)	9.3 Innovation and start-ups
Event report: Distinguished professors join HILL	Event report (PDF)	9.5 Capacity for the region and the nation
Event report: Masterclass on climate risk profiling	Event report (PDF)	9.2 Working with industry
Event report: Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers and Maritime SkillsPlus delegation	Event report (PDF)	9.5 Capacity for the region and the nation
Event report: CXO Insights: digital transformation	Event report (PDF)	9.2 Working with industry
Event report: AICWiC'25: ACM India Celebration of Women in Computing	Event report (PDF)	9.5 Capacity for the region and the nation
Event report: Code Connect mentoring event	Event report (PDF)	9.5 Capacity for the region and the nation
Event report: University of Malta delegation on AI and health care	Event report (PDF)	9.1 Research and technology for industry
Event report: AWS Community Day Dehradun 2025	Event report (PDF)	9.2 Working with industry
Event report: Workshop with London South Bank University experts	Event report (PDF)	9.1 Research and technology for industry
Event report: Udbhav 2025 state hackathon	Event report (PDF)	9.3 Innovation and start-ups
Event report: Young Founder Summit 2025	Event report (PDF)	9.3 Innovation and start-ups
Event report: Pre-incubation cohort 4: microgrants for six start-ups	Event report (PDF)	9.3 Innovation and start-ups
Event report: DrishtiKone 2025: an industry perspective	Event report (PDF)	9.2 Working with industry

SDG 9.1Research and technology for industry

What the research covers

Most cited work

Research spotlights

Defence-grade energy storage

Waste to methanol at pilot scale

Facilities that industry can use

Research centres

Conferences and research collaborations

Working with national research bodies

SDG 9.2Working with industry

SDG 9.3Innovation and start-ups

SDG 9.4Sustainable and digital infrastructure

SDG 9.5Capacity for the region and the nation

Events and activities

WAAI'25: Workshop on Advances in Automotive Industry

Alumnus named in Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia 2025

National Space Day 2025

Industry panel for new engineering students

Induction days at the School of Advanced Engineering

ICMS 2025 conference

Sustainability Fair 3.0

Faculty development on outcome-based education

Distinguished professors join HILL

Sustainability Fair 3.0 announcement

National Workshop on Data Science in Astronomy

Guest lecture on biomaterials research

Guest lecture on materials at small length scales

Hands-on workshop on VLSI design

Doctoral scholar presents nanomaterials research in Paris

Renaissance 4.0 space convention

Energy Summit 2025

Energy Summit 2025: ICSAE 2025

ICICCD 2025

Aerospace students visit defence and aviation facilities in Hyderabad

UPES at the 16th World Petrocoal Congress

Tulane University delegation

BEST Centre inaugurated by the Governor of Uttarakhand

Masterclass on climate risk profiling

Institute of Chartered Shipbrokers and Maritime SkillsPlus delegation

CXO Insights: digital transformation

ICIPR-2025 conference announcement

Seminar on challenges in petro retailing

Masterclass on procurement in exploration and production

Call for papers: ICIPR-2025

Faculty research in the Journal of Business Research

Student book on Uttarakhand launched at Raj Bhavan

ICIPR-2025 at the Kandoli campus

Research published in Energy Economics

XR simulations with the INSEAD XR Lab

Curious Case Writing Competition

Seminar on the future of trade, energy and maritime technology

Expert lecture on business in an AI-first economy

ICIPR-2025 concludes

CXO Masterclass: data and technology in air travel

Research at IMRC 2025, IIM Ahmedabad

Masterclass on market insights

Session on global energy security

FIPI Naftanomics 2025

Visual storytelling with Power BI and generative AI

Webinar: Decoding the Metaverse

Aarambh: orientation of Buzz, the communication society

AICWiC'25: ACM India Celebration of Women in Computing

Code Connect mentoring event

University of Malta delegation on AI and health care

AWS Community Day Dehradun 2025

Guest talk on technology in bird research

UPES at IEEE EMBC 2025, Copenhagen

Undergraduate induction 2025

Summer School on Dynamical Systems and Complexity concludes

PG Induction 2025

Summer school speakers announced (second set)

Summer school speakers announced

AWS Innovate Week 2025

Salesforce Day @ UPES

Uttarakhand's first Salesforce Talent Hub

Summer school announced by the Dean

ICACSDF 2025 concludes

ICACSDF 2025 keynote speakers

Talk on cloud computing careers with AWS