Pune: COEP Technical University Plans Chikhali Campus, May Get IIT Bombay Sub-Centre Status
Pune, 30th August 2025: The College of Engineering Pune (COEP) Technical University is setting up a dedicated research campus in Chikhali, which may soon be recognized as a sub-centre of IIT Bombay, Maharashtra Higher and Technical Education Minister Chandrakant Patil announced on Friday.
Patil was addressing the second convocation ceremony of COEP Technical University in Pune, where 358 postgraduate students (271 M.Tech. and 87 MBA), 725 graduate students, and 9 gold medalists received degree certificates. The event was attended by COEP Governing Board Chairman Vinayak Pai, Vice Chancellor Dr. Sunil Bhirud, Tata Auto-Comp Systems Vice Chairman Arvind Goyal, and Registrar D. N. Sonawane.
Highlighting the state’s efforts, Patil said the upcoming Chikhali campus will focus exclusively on advanced research. “Discussions are underway with the central government and IIT Mumbai administration to explore whether students completing research here can be awarded IIT Mumbai degrees,” he stated. Since permission to establish a new IIT in Pune is difficult due to the presence of multiple engineering institutes, the government is instead pursuing IIT sub-centre status for the Chikhali facility.
For this, COEP officials are in talks with IIT Bombay Director Shirish Kedare, and initial plans include exchange of courses and joint projects. “Students in India often graduate with foreign university degrees while studying here. On similar lines, efforts are being made to allow students conducting research at Chikhali to obtain IIT degrees, either independently or in a joint IIT-COEP format,” Patil added. Regular degree and postgraduate courses will continue at COEP’s main Pune campus.
Speaking on the larger vision for India’s growth, Patil stressed that an 8 percent growth rate is crucial to achieve the target of ‘Developed India 2047.’ Guest of honor Arvind Goyal urged students to embrace innovation, creativity, and integrity, noting that artificial intelligence (AI) and digital technologies will drive transformative changes across sectors in the next two decades.
