Danfoss India has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with College of Engineering Pune as part of its University Engagement Initiative. Danfoss will establish a Centre of Excellence at the college, to enable students and teachers get hands-on experience of refrigeration and cooling technologies prevalent in the industry. The Centre will help students get familiar with new technologies in the cold chain, refrigeration and heating, climate control and variable frequency drives. Danfoss will also conduct technical sessions for students. This collaborative effort is an initiative by Danfoss India to expand its industry-academia initiatives across Maharashtra, given the need for skill development in the state’s cold chain sector. Besides being the top exporter of grapes in the country, Maharashtra has the largest installed base for banana and fruit ripening chambers. There are about 600 registered cold storage facilities in Maharashtra, which highlights the need for skill development of the workforce and the potential for rural employment generation. Also launched on this occasion was the Danfoss Innovator Project Award, an intercollegiate competition designed for final year students in undergraduate and postgraduate courses, in the areas of Climate, Energy and Power Solutions.