The PlastIndia Foundation plans to invest around Rs 130 crore over the next five years to set up PlastIndia International University (PIU) at Vapi in Gujarat.
This is to offer world class education and to develop skilled manpower for the sector.
"The Gujarat government has allotted us 35 acre plot at Vapi in Gujarat. We have already invested Rs 9 crore and plan to invest total of Rs 130 crore over the next five years to create world-class campus," Plastindia Foundation president Bipin Shah told reporters here.
Plastindia Foundation is the apex body of major associations, organizations, and institutions connected with plastics including government and semi-government organisations.
PlastIndia International University has already entered into collaboration with University of Massachusetts Lowell (U-MASS) and University of Wisconsin-Madison, Shah said.
He said the undergraduate engineering programme at PIU will incorporate all the components of the curriculum that has made U-Mass Lowell Plastics Engineering programme an international success.
The plastic industry is in dire need of a knowledge centre and short-term trainings to the technical staff. As majority of the manufacturers are SMEs in the sector, it becomes difficult for them to obtain the higher skill courses needed for technical knowledge that is required for product innovation.
PIU will be the first institution in India which will teach polymer technology from concept to commercialization. The focus is on providing a knowledge based institution rather than a resource based one, Shah said.