MANIT Bhopal and Nebula Cloud Forge Strategic Partnership
Drones
Geospatial Industry
Centre of Excellence
Nebula Cloud
MOU
Higher Education
Bhopal,
India – April 8th, 2025 — Maulana Azad National Institute of
Technology (MANIT), Bhopal, has signed a strategic Memorandum of Understanding
(MoU) with Nebula Cloud, to
accelerate innovation in high-impact domains such as geospatial technologies,
digital twin production, drone technology, and artificial intelligence. This
initiative is spearheaded by Professor S. K. Katiyar, Professor in the
Department of Civil Engineering, MANIT Bhopal, who has been a visionary force
in fostering this collaboration.
Centers
of Excellence at MANIT Bhopal:
- Drone Center of
Excellence (Drone CoE): Dedicated to advancing
drone-based research and applications in disaster response, precision
agriculture, urban mapping, and infrastructure
monitoring.
- Cloud Center of
Excellence (Cloud CoE): A multidisciplinary hub to provide hands-on
training and research in cloud computing, AI/ML, geospatial data processing,
and digital twin simulations, powered by Nebula Cloud’s High-Performance
Computing (HPC) and GPU- based Cloud Labs.
Driving Geospatial R&D and Digital Innovation
At
the core of the partnership lies a shared mission to advance Geospatial
R&D, particularly in photogrammetry, remote sensing, GIS, drone mapping,
and the automated creation of digital twins for real-world applications.
Students and researchers at MANIT will receive exclusive access to Nebula Cloud
Workbenches, pre-configured cloud environments designed for real-time
geospatial processing and advanced AI model training.
“Nebula
Cloud’s HPC infrastructure is purpose-built for compute-intensive workflows in
remote sensing, photogrammetry, and digital twins. We are excited to
collaborate with MANIT to deliver real-world impact through research and
innovation,” said Venkata B Ganugula, CEO, Nebula Cloud.
“This partnership will
enable our students and faculty to work with industry-grade cloud platforms,
tackle real-world problems, and build solutions with global relevance,” said
Prof. S. K. Katiyar. “Together, we will shape the future of geospatial
intelligence and applied research.”
“By
collaborating with Nebula Cloud, we aim to position MANIT Bhopal as a national
leader in geospatial technology R&D,” said Prof. P.S. Rajput, Dean of
Institutional Development and International Relations, MANIT Bhopal. “This
partnership will directly benefit students, researchers, and industry
stakeholders alike.”
Governance and Strategic Oversight
A Joint Steering
Committee (JSC), comprising representatives from both MANIT and Nebula Cloud,
will oversee the planning, execution, and review of all collaborative
activities under this MoU. The JSC will meet quarterly to ensure alignment with
strategic goals and maintain academic and technological excellence.
About the Partners
MANIT Bhopal is a premier national institution recognized for academic excellence,
research, and innovation in engineering and technology.
Nebula Cloud is Asia’s first fully managed HPC and GPU cloud platform offering domain-
specific workbenches, including photogrammetry, AI, geospatial analytics, and
simulation— all available on-demand with a pay-as-you-go model.