Mumbai: Global technology company Honeywell has announced an agreement with Indian Institute of Technology Bombay to establish the “IITB Honeywell CoE”, a new Centre of Excellence at the institute’s Powai campus aimed at advancing sustainability skills and innovation in India.
The IITB Honeywell CoE is designed to skill more than 100,000 students by 2030 through a structured industry–academia collaboration focused on sustainability-related disciplines.
Formally titled the IIT Bombay – Honeywell Centre of Excellence for Future Skills & Innovation, the IITB Honeywell CoE will be created and fully funded by Honeywell Hometown Solutions India Foundation (HHSIF), Honeywell’s philanthropic arm in India.
The IITB Honeywell CoE will support advanced laboratory infrastructure, equipment procurement, curriculum development, and research and innovation grants.
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IITB Honeywell CoE: Pilot Phase to Begin with 250 Students
During its initial pilot phase over the next two months, the IITB Honeywell CoE will focus on establishing core infrastructure, developing a specialized curriculum, and training its first cohort of 250 students.
The programs offered by the IITB Honeywell CoE will include certificate-based courses featuring coursework and hands-on projects designed to address real-world sustainability challenges.
The initiative will benefit undergraduate, postgraduate, and doctoral students from across India.
Following the pilot phase, the IITB Honeywell CoE is expected to scale significantly. Through structured learning programs, the centre aims to engage nearly 20,000 students annually during the partnership period.
Addressing India’s Sustainability Skills Gap
The IITB Honeywell CoE comes at a time when India’s digital transformation and expansion of critical sectors such as energy are creating an increasing demand for sustainability professionals with cross-disciplinary and technology-driven expertise.
According to the Economic Survey 2023–24, India aims to create 3.4 million jobs in the green sector by 2030. At the same time, the renewable energy sector faces a significant talent shortage.
Research by TeamLease Services estimates that the industry already faces a deficit of 1.2 million skilled workers, which could grow to 1.7 million by 2027.
To address this skills gap, the IITB Honeywell CoE will combine classroom learning with applied research across five specialized learning tracks:
- Sustainability Reporting
- Sustainable Finance
- Energy Security
- Sustainability Infrastructure
- Policy Advocacy
- Industry and Academia Collaboration
Ashish Modi, President, India and Asia Pacific, Honeywell, said: “Skilling our workforce is central to building a future-ready and sustainable India. Our collaboration with IIT Bombay reinforces Honeywell’s commitment to developing high-quality talent across sustainability fields, as India accelerates growth through its AI-powered digital economy.”
He added: “Honeywell’s new CoE aligns with this digital transformation and will equip students with the right industrial skills to support long-term economic growth with sustainability at the core.”
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The IITB Honeywell CoE will require participating students to complete 40 hours of training across the five learning tracks. Classroom teaching and applied research activities will be jointly conducted by IIT Bombay faculty and industry experts.
In addition, Honeywell employees will contribute to the IITB Honeywell CoE through volunteer mentorship, technical guidance, and career-readiness training.
Strengthening Experiential Learning
Shireesh B. Kedare, Director of IIT Bombay, highlighted the importance of the partnership in strengthening experiential learning opportunities.
“IIT Bombay has always emphasized translating academic excellence into societal impact. The establishment of our Centre of Excellence with Honeywell strengthens that mission by giving students experiential learning beyond the classroom, enabling them to engage meaningfully with real-world sustainability challenges that are critical to India’s future.”
Part of Honeywell’s Saksham Skilling Initiative
The collaboration with IIT Bombay represents a key milestone under Honeywell India’s flagship Saksham skilling initiative.
Under the program, STEM students across India are trained in emerging domains such as artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and sustainability.
The partnership with IIT Bombay will specifically focus on sustainability-focused training through the IITB Honeywell CoE, reinforcing the initiative’s goal of preparing future-ready talent for India’s evolving green and digital economy.
