Bangalore: The School of Infrastructure Management and Development Strategies-India (MINDS), said to be first institute for infrastructure and development, is set to commence its academic programme in Bangalore in January.

MINDS is a division of the Centre for Symbiosis of Technology, Environment and Management (STEM), a 17-year-old inter-disciplinary professional research group.

MINDS has former professors of IITs and IIMs and senior professionals in its faculty, the statement said. MINDS aims at training managers to meet the specific demands of various areas in the infrastructure sector such as transport, power, telecommunications, health and education and IT-enabled services, it said.

In addition, it would also provide grounding to students in the fundamentals of management. MINDS offers post-graduate diploma in infrastructure and development management (PGDIDM), a one-year full-time course for young graduate engineers from all disciplines.

A student from MINDS would be trained to become a specialist in infrastructure and development management, irrespective of the stream of engineering she/he has specialised in. The aim is to strengthen the employment potential of each individual by providing value-addition, it said.