Chennai, Sep 19 (IANS): The Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT-M) on Thursday said it had hosted the first meeting of Space Technology Cells (STCs) established by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Department of Space in these premier institutions.

In a statement issued here, IIT-M said the ISRO - IIT Madras Space Technology Cell Confluence 2019, the first meeting of all the Space Technology Cells, was held at IIT-M on September 16-17, 2019.

The objective was to share information about the research underway in various institutions, the salient findings, and to understand the utilisation of output by ISRO.

The ISRO and the Central government's Department of Space have established and operated the Space Technology Cells for over three decades in IIT-M, IIT Bombay, IIT Kanpur, IIT Kharagpur, IIT Guwahati, IIT Roorkee, Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, and Savitribai Phule Pune University, Pune, to carry out focused research in space-related technologies.

According to the statement, IIT-M Director Bhaskar Ramamurthi highlighted the importance of collaborative research and suggested mechanisms for the faculty to spend 3-4 weeks in ISRO centres to interact with the scientists and understand ways to make joint proposals.