Wood Engineering Production Centre

Plab

Wood Engineering Production Centre

Genesis

Centurion University’s focus and DNA since inception has been on hands-on, experiential-based learning through strong industry involvement and live production environments, which has ensured a placement rate of over 80 per cent for its vocational trainees into jobs across the country in more than 120 companies.

In 2010 Centurion University introduced Centurion Vocational Qualification Framework (CVQF), which recognized prior learning experience and allowed it to be converted into credits for absorption and vertical upward movement in the formal education system.

The unique skill-integration education system and its extensive hands-on approach culminated in Centurion University being awarded the status of ‘Skill University” by the Government of Odisha in 2017, and in 2019 “Centre of Excellence” by the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Government of India.

The Wood Engineering Unit was established in 2016 to provide this hands-on vocational skill experience to all its students, who would like to pursue this profession as an employment mode or hobby. Besides the experiential learning for all incumbent students, this Unit very quickly became an exceptionally attractive platform for providing employment-linked training for differently-abled youth.

Centurion University has been registered under the Persons with Disabilities (PWD) Act 1995 in 2016, the year when the Wood Engineering Unit was established. The differently-abled students were offered the choice of employment-linked vocational training in wood engineering, apparel manufacturing and coffee brewing, and then the Café Coffee Day Unit. Centurion University has trained and placed 650+ differently-abled students through these three labs.

Aims and Objectives

The aim of these hands-on workshops and labs is to provide real-life experience to the students to enable them to take this as a job or base for nano, novo, or micro-entrepreneurship. The Wood Engineering Unit has been equipped with state-of-the-art machinery and infrastructure with which the students learn to make innovative and market-ready highly qualitative products.

First, as a Skill University, the first goal is to make the students ready to be productive and economically self-sufficient by increasing and enhancing their employability skills. Second, Centurion University endeavours to become self-sufficient in as many aspects as possible by encouraging in-house production as per requirement.

Products/ Services Available

To begin with, Centurion University has taken care of the majority of in-house requirements as can be seen from the photographs. Besides the production for in-house requirements, the Wood Engineering Unit also manufactures furniture on order for other institutions in the open market.

Benefits

The skills learned in the Wood Engineering Unit have changed the lives of many youths and their families, especially the differently-abled (hearing impaired) students who, with the help of the acquired mastery of these skills could earn their livelihoods with dignity. The Unit is called ‘wood engineering’ and not just a ‘carpentry workshop’ because what the students learn here is much more than basic carpentry skills. They learn to design, adapt, innovate and produce modern, need-based futuristic furniture, which not only is high in demand in the market but also provides the means of the highest satisfaction and confidence to the students.

Future goals

The Wood Engineering Unit is leading the way to creating employability/ employment/ entrepreneurship/ enterprise management in an all-inclusive environment using hands-on knowledge, experience-based learning and practice-linked pedagogy.

Adherence to SDGs

Every Unit in Centurion University including the Wood Engineering Unit works hard to maximise the use of the existing resources and minimise waste with its innovative methods and infrastructure. This Unit has worked on various ways to upcycle waste material into exciting and practical designs of furniture for in-house use as well as for the market. The future lies in reducing waste and ensuring that every effort applied is towards the sustainability of the planet.

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Apparel Manufacturing Unit

Plab

Apparel Manufacturing Unit

 Genesis

Centurion University is an accredited, notified Skill University with a track record of skilling and training 450,000+ youth from difficult geographies, marginalised communities and differently-abled youth in Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Jharkhand, Assam and Punjab. The unique skill-integration education system and its extensive hands-on approach culminated in Centurion University being awarded the status of ‘Skill University” by the Government of Odisha in 2017, and in 2019 “Centre of Excellence” by the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Government of India.

Considering the high employment generation of the apparel industry in India and the interest among the youth from rural poor families in building a career in the sector to earn a dignified livelihood, Centurion University established an ‘Apparel Manufacturing Lab’ at Paralakhemundi Campus in 2014 and followed by another with advanced sewing technology at Bhubaneswar in 2016.

Centurion University obtained registration under the Persons with Disabilities (PWD) Act 1995 and a pilot batch with differently-abled (hearing and speech impaired) trainees was enrolled in the Paralakhemundi Centre with the initiative of one of Gram Tarang’s lead trainers, who already knew sign language. This batch was 100 per cent successfully placed and the trainees are still working with the industry in Bangalore.

Aims and Objectives

This Apparel Manufacturing Unit offers skill training courses from basic to advanced levels to prepare trainees for career advancement and better wages, upgrade the knowledge and skill levels of the existing workforce and facilitate the training of trainers employed at various training centres in the country.

Differently-abled youth are trained in this Unit with the aim to make them competent, capable and confident in gaining employment or starting entrepreneurial ventures and thereby become accepted as an important and respected part of their community and society.  It is worthwhile to mention 70 per cent of these differently-abled trainees are girls, out of which about 50-60% are from tribal communities. The entire training is provided in residential mode.

In general, trainees belong to below-poverty line (BPL) families and mobilization is done from the remotest parts of Orissa through formal channels organized by ORMAS (Panchayati Raj Department conducts Job Melas at Gram Panchayat, Block Office & District Headquarters) and informal channels of a well-managed team of field workers. These youth are often mobilized from Naxal Affected, aspirational districts across Odisha and Andhra Pradesh with support from the local district administration. Trainees are over the age of 18 and willing to migrate to southern India (Chennai, Bangalore, Tirupur, etc.) for placement.

 

The Apparel Manufacturing Unit offers skill training courses with the following major objectives:

  1. Sensitization and amplification of advanced sewing technology
  2. Training Delivery of School/ College Dropout youth from rural poor families
  3. RPL & Up-skilling of those working in apparel industry for better wages and career progression
  4. Training of Trainers in the apparel skills ecosystem in Odisha and Andhra Pradesh
  5. Economic empowerment of the marginalised communities, especially from remote and difficult geographies, towards earning a livelihood with pride and dignity.

Products/ Services Available

Centurion University has extensive experience working with differently-abled youth (mostly hearing and speech impaired youth; a few with physical disabilities as well) and have trained 656 trainees across three trades, i.e., ‘Quick Service Restaurant Associate’, ‘Industrial Sewing Machine Operator’, and ‘Woodwork & Carpentry’. Out of the total 656 trained, 502 have been successfully employed with 90 choosing and being successful in entrepreneurship (self-employment) resulting in creating employment. Among these 656 differently-abled youth, 100 have been trained and placed in the apparel manufacturing industry.

As of 2022, the Apparel Manufacturing Unit has trained and placed more than 50,000 youth in various industries across the country.

Centurion University also launched its own brand of apparel by the name of “Aussie” exclusively designed and manufactured by differently-abled youth. This brand manufactures environment-friendly garments, using waste-to-wealth principles to maximise the use of resources while minimising waste.

This year, from January 2023 to June 2023, Centurion University enrolled the first batch of six young women belonging to Australia First Nation (indigenous community) for skill training on apparel manufacturing as training trainers (ToTs). These six young women would train other First Nation youth when they return to the community towards generating income for their livelihoods.

Benefits

Centurion University – Gram Tarang has active ties with over 50 Garment Export Units in Bangalore, Chennai, Tirupur, and Coimbatore among others that continuously offer placement opportunities for trained and skilled migrant workers. The Apparel Manufacturing Unit has offered skill training and placed over 50,000 youth as of 2022, including 100 hearing and speech-impaired youth. Those who are not keen to migrate to other cities for placement, are handheld and nurtured towards self-employment opportunities such as tailors in their villages. Gram Tarang also has its own production unit – for its brand Aussie – and offers internships and job opportunities for trainees.

Future goals

The number one goal is to make these youth from marginalised communities competent, capable and confident in gaining employment or starting entrepreneurial ventures and thereby become accepted as an important and respected part of their community and society.

Centurion University plans to expand its reach internationally, starting with Australia with which it already has a long-standing association. The Aussie brand offers a wide range of products from designer clothes to customised uniforms to highly specialised medical garments.

 

Towards this goal, the Apparel Manufacturing Unit is constantly evolving to keep abreast with the latest technology and demands of the industry. In 2023 Centurion University is placed to launch its own medical apparel production in response to the demand of the market. The Unit would design and deliver these highly specialised products and at the same time offer skill training courses on their manufacturing to the marginalised youth in Odisha and Andhra Pradesh.

Adherence to SDGs

The Apparel Manufacturing Unit applies the waste-to-wealth principles in every facet of production ensuring that the use of resources is maximised, while waste is minimised. Every bit of cloth is used in the Lab, each waste product is upscaled to make a useful, commercially valuable product.

While changing lives by creating economically productive citizens of the country, who can earn their livelihoods with dignity, the Unit also creates a deep awareness about the importance of manufacturing environment-friendly products that work and nurture a sustainable ecosystem

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Waste to Wealth Production Unit

Plab

Waste to Wealth

Genesis

The Waste-to-Wealth Production Unit was set up as Centurion’s commitment to zero waste and optimal use of resources. Centurion University has been extremely conscious and careful to not only minimise waste creation but also ensure that every waste product is put through the recycle and upcycle process.

 

‘Sustainability’ is a societal goal that today translates into the ability and efforts of humans to securely coexist on the planet without depleting or destroying the environment. Centurion University has always woven this aspect into its every activity perpetually looking for innovative ways to ensure sustainability at all possible levels. The Waste to Wealth Unit is one of the most successful outcomes of these efforts.

 

The first step in creating the Waste to Wealth Unit was out of dire necessity. When Centurion University Bhubaneswar Campus was established in 2007, there was almost no soil in the 40+ acres of the campus area. The whole expanse was made of arid stone. We needed soil to grow a green mantle over the Campus, and as a hands-on Skill University, Centurion University sought methods to create soil and that is where the principle of ‘zero food waste’ came into the application.  The ‘Zero-Food Waste’ principle consists of a set of clear-cut measures focused on the prevention of waste through redesigning the life cycle of the resource to ensure reuse until the optimum level of consumption is achieved. The aim here is to reach the point where no food waste reaches landfills, incinerators or oceans.

 

In addition to raising awareness among students about the necessity to avoid food wastage, a large industrial bio-composting machine was installed which went through a bio-culture process to produce excellent quality soil out of unusable food waste and sawdust. This process helped create an average of 130 kg of soil per day. Between 2015 and 2021, this process created roughly 170 tonnes of composted soil.

 

Today, the campus boasts of a Butterfly, Bees and Cactus (BBC) Garden, which has been celebrated as an ecological pilot success project where not only we revived the population of butterflies and bees – the most powerful yet unsung pollinators of Mother Nature – but also the local flora and fauna in less than two short years. This goes to prove that sustainability is not only possible but also so necessary for the revival and nurturing of life on the planet.

 

Aims and Objectives

The ultimate purpose of the Waste-to-Wealth Unit is “minimal waste and optimal use”.

 

What started with a necessity, soon turned into a passion to create more ways towards sustainability of the depleting resources.  Proud to be a Skill University like no other in the country, Centurion University looked for other ways to generate wealth from waste towards a more sustainable internal environment. Several new ways to save and manufacture products emerged from this effort such as manufacturing handmade paper, pavers from waste and non-biodegradable plastic, dustless chalk, wood engineering for furniture making, environment-friendly apparel among others. Centurion University through its ‘Waste-to-Wealth Lab’ endeavours to manufacture sustainably everything that is needed for it to function.

 

Products/Services Available

Gradually this effort extended to manufacturing various products both for internal use and for the market, such as stationery, clay and terracotta products, and wood furniture. The Waste-to-Wealth Unit also manufactures environment-friendly apparel.

Each one of these products is designed and manufactured by the students of Centurion University who not only earn the skill of creating market-ready products while studying their various courses but also learn the importance of ‘minimal waste and optimal use’ of all our resources.

 

Benefits

The Waste-to-Wealth Unit is exactly what its name implies. It creates wealth from supposedly waste products. But that is not all that it does. There is one other much more important aspect to it, i.e., imbibing the culture of sustainability and respect for every resource in the minds of the students, the future citizens of the country. It is our hope that each one of these students when they graduate and step out into the world, will endeavour to build a future that respects and is protective of the environment and thereby, contributes towards a more sustainable tomorrow. 

Future goals

Centurion University will continue to seek ways and means to minimise waste on the Campus, its vicinities and overall, in the country. Through example and hands-on process, the Waste-to-Wealth Unit will remain dedicated to making Centurion University internally self-sufficient by making optimal use of its natural resources, and recycling and upcycling any waste created.

 

Adherence to SDGs

As mentioned earlier, Centurion University works hard to align itself to the Sustainable Development Goals and in this case, it is aligned with SDG 12, which requires institutions, organizations and individuals, to minimise waste. The University strives to minimise waste creation, and also ensure that every waste product is put through the recycle and upcycle process towards creating not only wealth but also more importantly, responsible citizens of tomorrow who know, understand and respect the need for a sustainable environment.

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Media Resource Center

Plab

Media Resource Center

The University established a Media research Centre in 2015. The media department is equipped with various post production equipment and high end cameras with lights and sound.

Aim

To enable students to get both basic and in-depth understanding of camera, lights, sound, and post production work.

Objectives

The students will have the opportunity to:

  1. Operate on both still and video camera
  2. Learn how to edit and create graphic design.
  3. Learn 3D animation and game design
  4. Make documentary films and short stories
  5. Create content for Youtube and other social media platforms

Outcomes

  1. Develop skills to create content
  2. Develop skills to work in regional and national News channels
  3. Learn professional editing
  4. Learn sound engineering
  5. Learn graphic designing
  6. Learn how to create visual effects (VFX)
  7. Develop various skills and techniques for different professions such as game artist, animator, film-maker, story-developer, voice over artist, etc.

Caters to

This facility caters to students of Media and Communication which includes both under-graduation as well as post-graduation courses, Skills for Success (SFS), Domain Courses, Diploma, and World Skills participants. It also serves as a state-of-the-art facility for research scholars: PhD and Research fellows.

Market Linkages

The MRC studio aims to encourage entrepreneurship and produce professionals who excel in various fields such as camera, sound, light, VFX and more so that they can achieve self-reliance as well as generate employment.

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Polyhouse Automation for Agriculture using IOT

Plab

Polyhouse Automation for Agriculture using IOT

The introduction of polyhouse farming is made in response to the expanding market demand for high-value flowers and vegetables. Exotic and valuable crops can be grown in polyhouses under controlled environmental conditions. Certain high-value flowers and vegetables cannot be cultivated under open field conditions in the tropical climate. They require a partially controlled environment that can be provided in the polyhouse.

Unique Features

  1. Reduces the size of the pump
  2. Improves the efficiency of water delivery from the pump
  3. Saves energy and water compared to traditional systems
  4. Increases the life of the pump.
  5. Sets water supply limits based on type of usage, crop, and quality of water.
  6. Provides real time access to sensor and actuation data at the fingertips.
  7. Enables ‘anywhere anytime’ fingertip access to data and control actions on the mobile devices.

Aims and Objectives

  1. Monitor year-round of different climatic parameters i.e. temperature, relative humidity, light intensity
  2. Monitor soil related parameters i.e., soil temperature, soil pH, EC etc
  3. Water management through overhead (fogging) and root zone (dripping, flow table) control
  4. Fertigation control
  5. Monitor climate parameter as per crop requirement
  6. Record climate parameters history
  7. Ensure higher yield
  8. Practise crop diversification.
  9. Off-season & assured production
  10. Reduce diseases and pest attack
  11. Employment generation

 

Outcomes

  1. Protects the crops from wind, rain, radiation, precipitation, and other climatic factors.
  2. Creates microclimate surrounding the crops that help in maximum growth regarding production and quality.
  3. Yields maximum profit in a minimum area under cultivation.
  4. Reduce the number of manual activities, dependency on labour and overall labour cost.
  5. Year-round cultivation (including off-seasons).
  6. Produces a higher yield of high-quality crops.
  7. Polyhouse automation IOT
  8. Solar lighting
  9. Solar inverter operation
  10. Solar thermal

Caters to

This facility caters to students of Engineering, Agriculture as well as Vocational education. This includes Domain Courses (under-graduation and post-graduation courses), Skills for Success (SFS), Diploma and World Skills participants. It also serves as a state-of-the-art facility for research scholars: PhD and Research fellows.

Market Linkages


The facility promotes entrepreneurship by offering training in effective, efficient and innovative practices in the industry. It also conducts workshops for farmers to learn about polyhouse automation and hydroponics.

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Disintegration Apparatus

Plab

Disintegration Apparatus

The U.S. Pharmacopeia standard disintegration tester uses two baskets with mesh bottoms, which are slowly moved up and down in a water bath at 37 °C. Tablets are placed in the disintegration tester baskets and the time taken for them to disintegrate is noted.

Aim and objectives

The disintegration test is used to show how quickly the tablet breaks down into smaller particles, allowing for a greater surface area and availability of the drug when taken by a patient. The disintegration test is used to show how quickly the tablet breaks down into smaller particles, allowing for a greater surface area and availability of the drug when taken by a patient.

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Friability Test Apparatus

Plab

Friability Test Apparatus

Friability testing determines how much mechanical stress tablets are able to withstand during their handling by the customer.

Unique features

Friability testing determines how much mechanical stress tablets are able to withstand during their handling by the customer.

Aim and objectives

Friability testing determines how much mechanical stress tablets are able to withstand during their handling by the customer. The friability test is intended to measure the physical strength of the tablet. This involves repeatedly dropping a sample of tablets over a fixed time, using a rotating drum with a baffle. The result is inspected for broken tablets, and the percentage of tablet mass lost through chipping.

Outcomes

Friability test is intended to measure the physical strength of the tablet. This involves repeatedly dropping a sample of tablets over a fixed time, using a rotating drum with a baffle. The result is inspected for broken tablets, and the percentage of tablet mass lost through chipping.

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Tablet Compression Lab

Plab

Tablet Compression Lab

This lab demonstrates how tablet compression works. It is used to produce simple and precise tablets from powder in Pharmaceutical and relevant Industries for research & development.

Unique features

This laboratory is designed to develop the skills of pharmacy students to manufacture and evaluate common dosage forms on a large scale.

Aim and objectives of the laboratory

This lab was established for the purposes of creating awareness of tablet compression among students and to help prepare them for their professional careers. The main objective of the design and manufacture of the compressed tablet is to deliver orally correct amount of drug in the proper form over the proper time and at desired location, so as to have suitable chemical integrity protected at the point of its action

Outcomes

Formulate tablets that are uniform in weight and in drug content.This machine is used to formulate tablets that are uniform in weight and in drug content.

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Instrumentation Analysis Lab

Plab

Instrumentation Analysis Lab

This lab educates the students to take the measurements in an analytical and logical way. This laboratory enables the students to carry out the measurements automatically and objectively. Students are made familiar with the analytical instruments to work out composition, characterize the samples, separate the mixtures, and yield useful results.

Unique features

  1. This laboratory deals with the process of identification, quantification, and purification of a substance
  2. It deals with the separation of components of a solution or mixture, or determination of the chemical structure of unknown chemical compounds
  3. It also ascertains quality assurance and quality control of products (pharmaceuticals, Food, Herbals & Cosmeceuticals) reaching the market.

Aim and objectives

Instrumental analysis investigates the use of scientific instruments to study systems. Typical topics included in this area are spectroscopy, nuclear spectroscopy, mass spectrometry, crystallography, electrochemical analysis, thermal analysis, separations, and Microscopy.

Outcomes

They ensure that a particular product complies with all of the specifications concerning the quality of medicinal products, pharmaceuticals, veterinary medicines, nutraceuticals, medical devices, cosmeceuticals, and food supplements.

Caters to

Apart from being custodians of the quality of marketed products, pharmaceutical Analysts also have a vital role in the preclinical and clinical development of new drugs and pharmaceuticals, in environmental studies, and in disease diagnosis.

Market Linkages of the School of Pharmacy

The facility through the rigor of the training enables the students to choose the path of entrepreneurship and create employment. The school has developed 4 different cosmetic products with natural ingredients, the formulation technology will be transferred to Ganesh Pharmaceuticals which will be marketed by Naturals.

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Pharmaceutics Lab

Plab

Pharmaceutics Lab

These laboratories provide knowledge about the manufacturing of pharmaceutical preparations and help in training the students in drug formulations like tablets, capsules, parenteral, ointments, creams, eye drops, syrups, drug interaction, stability, shelf-life studies, etc. The students study different aspects of filling, packing, sealing, and labeling.

Unique features

This laboratory deals with the formulation and evaluation of various pharmaceutical dosages form. The focused research areas are:

  1. Pre-formulation studies,
  2. Development of different pharmaceutical dosage forms including novel and nanotechnology-based drug delivery systems
  3. Evaluation of developed dosage forms with respect to various in vitro and in vivo parameters and
  4. Studying the biopharmaceutical and pharmacokinetic aspects of the drug as well as its dosage forms.

Aim and objectives of the laboratory

The primary objective of these labs is to provide practical exposure to Undergraduates and Research Students on techniques of tissue culture, sterilization, antibiotic assay, microbial Screening, microbial sensitivity, microbial resistance, etc. This laboratory also deals with the formulation and evaluation of various pharmaceutical dosages form.

Outcomes

  1. Understand the importance of drug design and different techniques of drug design.
  2. Understand the chemistry of drugs with respect to their biological activity.
  3. Know the metabolism, adverse effects, and therapeutic value of drugs.

Caters to

The graduates can work in several different industries such as sales, marketing, research and development, manufacturing, quality check, education, etc.

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