Mumbai, March 09, 2026: Honeywell has partnered with the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT Bombay) to establish a Centre of Excellence (CoE) at the institute’s Powai campus aimed at strengthening sustainability education and research. The initiative seeks to train more than 100,000 students by 2030 in sustainability-related fields through industry–academia collaboration.
The IIT Bombay–Honeywell Centre of Excellence for Future Skills & Innovation (IITB-Honeywell CoE) will be created and fully funded by Honeywell Hometown Solutions India Foundation (HHSIF), the company’s philanthropic arm in India. The centre will support advanced laboratory infrastructure, equipment procurement, curriculum development and research and innovation grants.
In its pilot phase over the next two months, the centre will focus on building core infrastructure, developing specialised curriculum and training the first cohort of 250 students. The programmes will offer certificate-based courses combining classroom learning with hands-on projects that address real-world sustainability challenges.
The IITB-Honeywell CoE will cater to undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral students across India. After the pilot phase, the centre is expected to engage nearly 20,000 students annually, helping build a pipeline of sustainability professionals equipped with cross-disciplinary and technology-driven skills.
India’s transition toward a green economy is expected to create significant demand for skilled professionals. According to the Economic Survey 2023–24, the country aims to generate 3.4 million jobs in the green sector by 2030. At the same time, reports indicate a growing shortage of skilled workers in areas such as renewable energy and sustainability.
The new centre aims to address this gap through five core learning tracks: Sustainability Reporting, Sustainable Finance, Energy Security, Sustainability Infrastructure and Policy Advocacy. Each student enrolled in the programme will complete 40 hours of training across these tracks.
“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,” said Ashish Modi, President, India and Asia Pacific, Honeywell. “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.”
The training programmes and applied research initiatives will be jointly delivered by IIT Bombay faculty and industry experts, with Honeywell employees contributing through mentorship, technical guidance and career-readiness training.
“IIT Bombay has always emphasized translating academic excellence into societal impact,” said Prof. Shireesh B. Kedare, Director, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay. “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.”
The partnership forms part of Honeywell India’s ‘Saksham’ skilling initiative, which focuses on equipping STEM students with capabilities in areas such as artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and sustainability.
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