Koraput: Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan began his two-day visit to Koraput district on Saturday with a visit to the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) engine and component manufacturing unit at Sunabeda.

Emphasising its strategic importance in national defence, Pradhan called for development of a HAL-based MSME cluster to spur employment and entrepreneurship in the region.He urged HAL to collaborate with IIT Madras and Central University of Odisha (CUO) to offer diploma and undergraduate programmes in aerospace, defenc, and related sectors. "The objective is to develop a skilled workforce with domain expertise and promote innovation from the school level," he said.Pradhan also advised establishment of HAL-sponsored STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) laboratories in schools across Koraput, Malkangiri, Nabarangpur and Rayagada districts. "The laboratories would provide early exposure to scientific disciplines and lay the groundwork for future careers in technology," he said.Applauding HAL Koraput's contributions to the aviation sector — particularly its role in manufacturing components for MIG and Sukhoi aircraft — Pradhan said the unit has been instrumental in India's self-reliance in defence and aerospace.

In alignment with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ‘Vocal for Local' mission, the minister encouraged HAL to support the promotion of Koraput Coffee, Kotpad handloom and the region's tribal heritage to strengthen local identity and boost the rural economy.Later in the day, Pradhan visited CUO campus in Sunabeda, where he inaugurated hostels and staff quarters and laid the foundation stone for an infrastructure project aimed at transforming the institute.

A total of Rs 750 crore has been sanctioned for campus development.To elevate the university to global standards, an MoU was signed between six centrally funded higher education institutes in Odisha — CUO, IIT Bhubaneswar, IIM Sambalpur, NIT Rourkela, IISER Berhampur and National Sanskrit University, Puri. Updating the status of academic staff, Pradhan said 70 posts have recently been filled and CUO aims to fill at least 130 out of sanctioned 153 teaching positions in the next year. He also announced that CUO will introduce new diploma and undergraduate courses in artificial intelligence, machine learning and agri-business from the next academic year.