A modern factory floor does not look like the factory floor of twenty years ago. The labour has shifted from manual operation to automated control, and the workforce skill profile has shifted with it.
The Industrial Drives and Control Lab inside Parul University’s Lakshya 2047 Centre for Future Skills, inaugurated by Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh on 8 May 2026, is built to develop that updated workforce skill profile. The lab provides three full industrial control panels with Schneider Electric hardware, French-imported Internet of Things (IoT) modules, and a heavy-duty 3-phase motor that replicates the operating conditions of actual factories. Students learn the electrical drive systems, control panel construction, and Variable Frequency Drive (VFD) operation that modern industrial automation depends on, including the safety isolation work that distinguishes industrial electrical engineering from generic electrical work.
What is inside the Industrial Drives and Control Lab
The lab is built around three specific pieces of infrastructure that together replicate the operational environment of a modern factory.
- Three industrial control panels. Three enormous industrial control panels are installed inside the lab. One is fully built as a reference example, functioning as a kind of operational encyclopedia for students learning to recognise component layouts and wiring conventions. The other two are deliberately empty, designated as construction zones where students build circuitry from scratch under supervision. The combination of a reference panel and construction panels is what makes the lab’s training hands-on rather than observational.
- Schneider Electric M221 PLCs and control hardware. The control panels are built around Schneider Electric hardware, including the M221 Programmable Logic Controllers and the broader Schneider control infrastructure that the Indian industrial automation market deploys widely. Schneider hardware also pairs with the Schneider Electric infrastructure inside the centre’s other industrial automation labs.
- French-imported Internet of Things modules. The IoT modules connecting the control panels to broader networked systems are imported from France, where Schneider Electric has its global headquarters and produces some of the more advanced IoT integration modules for industrial control. The imported modules give students hands-on access to the kind of industrial IoT infrastructure that is becoming standard in advanced manufacturing globally.
- Heavy-duty 3-phase motor. To replicate actual factory conditions, the lab includes a heavy-duty 3-phase motor of the same kind used in factories to run conveyor belts and production lines. Students work with the actual motor, including the wiring, the power supply, the protection systems, and the control interfaces that the motor requires for safe operation.
- Variable Frequency Drives (VFD). VFDs let students set the exact amount of current passing into the motor, which is what makes modern factories energy-efficient. The VFD work covers the energy-savings argument that is central to industrial sustainability and to the cost-control dimensions of factory operations.
- Earthing and safety installations. The panels include the earthing installations and safety wiring that protect against electric shock when handling high-voltage inputs. This is part of the operational discipline that distinguishes industrial drives work from general electrical engineering.
How students actually use the three control panels
The pedagogical model is built from scratch, not observe-only. The two empty panels are where most of the learning happens.
A student arrives at the lab with theoretical training in electrical engineering, power systems, and control theory. The lab converts that theoretical foundation into operational competence by requiring students to build the actual control circuitry that drives industrial motors. The fully built reference panel serves as the operational example: students study how the components are arranged, how the wiring flows, and how the control logic connects to the power systems. The two empty panels are where students apply that understanding by building their own control circuits.
The build-from-scratch approach develops three specific competencies that observation-only training cannot:
- Practical wiring discipline. Students learn how to lay out wiring inside an industrial panel so that the panel is maintainable, diagnosable, and safe to work on. Wiring discipline is one of the practical skills that distinguishes a competent industrial automation engineer from a theoretical one.
- Component selection and integration. Students learn which components to select for which functions, how to integrate components from different vendors into a coherent control architecture, and how to design panels that operate reliably under industrial conditions.
- Safety isolation and failure-mode design. Students learn how to isolate panels electrically, how to design for failure modes, and how to prevent disastrous short circuits. The safety isolation work is part of why the lab’s training is taken seriously by industrial employers.
The end-to-end control workflow students master
The endgame of the lab’s training is operational fluency in the full industrial control workflow.
A student who has worked through the lab’s training can do the following sequence end-to-end. Give commands from a computer to the IoT module. The IoT module passes those commands to the hardware. The hardware regulates power to the heavy-duty 3-phase motor, protects against short circuits, and starts or stops the motor on command. The student has built the entire control loop, from software command to physical action, on their own panel. This is what industrial control panel work actually looks like at operational scale, and it is what the lab develops in students.
The work pairs naturally with the broader industrial automation training in the PLC and SCDA Lab and the ABB Lab.
Cross-faculty access: which students engage the lab
- Electrical and Mechatronics students. The primary users. These students engage the lab for the power-systems dimension, including 3-phase motor handling, control transformer design, and power-unit safety design. They learn to isolate panels and prevent the kind of short-circuit failures that can otherwise be catastrophic.
- Mechanical Engineering students. Engage the lab to integrate mechanical systems with electrical control, building the mechatronic systems that combine physical machinery with electronic control logic.
- Electronics and Communication students. Engage the lab for the IoT integration dimension, including the communication protocols that connect the IoT modules to the broader factory network.
- Robotics and Automation students. Engage the lab to understand the power-systems and control-panel work that underlies industrial robotics. Robots run on motors; motors run on industrial control panels. Understanding the underlying control infrastructure is part of what makes a robotics engineer effective.
- Students planning entrepreneurial manufacturing ventures. Engage the lab specifically to develop the practical skills needed to safely wire and automate their own small-scale industrial operations. The hands-on panel construction work is directly applicable to setting up production lines for industrial entrepreneurs.
Industrial entrepreneurship: the distinctive pathway
Most university automation training prepares students for employment inside existing factories. The Industrial Drives and Control Lab prepares students for that, and also for setting up their own factories.
The distinction matters because the cost of setting up small-scale industrial operations in India has come down substantially as automation has democratised, but the skill requirement has stayed high. An entrepreneur trying to set up a small manufacturing operation needs to know how to design their production lines, how to safely wire their factory, how to select the right industrial components, and how to automate their workflows to reduce labour costs.
Students who have built control panels from scratch in the lab arrive at this entrepreneurial pathway with the practical foundation that most automation graduates do not have. The Parul Innovation and Entrepreneurship Research Centre (PIERC) startup pipeline connects this entrepreneurial training to incubation and funding pathways for students who want to take their manufacturing ventures to market.
Career pathways: the Industrial Drives and Control Lab opens
- Electrical Drives Engineer. Specialised role focused on the drive systems that power industrial machinery. Demand is steady across manufacturing sectors, with particular concentration in industries that depend on heavy machinery: automotive, steel, cement, chemicals, and process industries broadly.
- Control Panel Designer. Designs the industrial control panels that go into factories and automation systems. The hands-on panel construction work inside the lab is directly applicable, and the role requires the wiring discipline, component selection, and safety isolation knowledge the lab develops.
- Industrial IoT Engineer. Bridges traditional industrial control with IoT-based connectivity. The French-imported IoT modules give students hands-on experience with the kind of advanced industrial IoT infrastructure that this emerging role requires.
- Manufacturing Plant Setup Specialist. Helps companies set up new manufacturing operations from the ground up, including factory floor design, equipment selection, control architecture, and commissioning. The lab’s training in panel construction and control workflow makes graduates competitive for this role.
- Industrial Entrepreneur. Sets up and operates small to mid-scale manufacturing operations. The hands-on training inside the lab is the foundation for this pathway, paired with the broader business and entrepreneurial training Parul University provides.
Why this lab is structurally unique
The combination of large-scale industrial automation infrastructure, heavy-duty Variable Frequency Drives, large-scale imported IoT integration, and multi-panel construction is unusual at the university level.
Most Indian university electrical engineering labs provide some PLC training, some motor control training, and some VFD exposure, but they typically do not provide the full hands-on construction environment that this lab is built around. Three full panels, French-imported IoT modules, a heavy-duty 3-phase motor, and the panel construction discipline together give the lab a distinctive technical depth that translates directly into graduate employability in industrial automation hiring.
The Make in India workforce capacity argument that the multi mission alignment article treats in detail rests substantially on the kind of practical training that this lab represents.
How the Industrial Drives and Control Lab fits the broader Lakshya 2047 ecosystem
The Industrial Drives and Control Lab is one of four labs in the industrial automation cluster inside Lakshya 2047. It pairs with the PLC and SCADA Lab for the supervisory control dimension, with the Home Automation Lab for the building automation and HVAC application of similar principles, and with the ABB Lab for the industrial robotics application of motor and control work. The cluster’s combined breadth covers the operational scope of modern industrial automation engineering, with each lab developing a specific dimension of the workforce capacity that Make in India requires..
FAQs
What makes the Industrial Drives and Control Lab distinctive compared with other electrical engineering labs?
Three specific features. First, the lab provides three full industrial control panels, with one fully built as a reference and two designated for student construction from scratch. The build-from-scratch model develops practical wiring discipline, component selection competence, and safety isolation knowledge that observation-only training cannot. Second, the lab uses French-imported Internet of Things modules from Schneider Electric, giving students exposure to the kind of advanced industrial IoT infrastructure that is becoming standard globally but is not commonly available in Indian university labs. Third, the lab includes a heavy-duty 3-phase motor of the same kind used in actual factories, with students working on the full motor control workflow from software command through to physical motor action.
Which certifications complement the Industrial Drives and Control Lab training?
The lab's training pairs naturally with the certifications available through the PLC and SCADA Lab, including the Siemens Certified Drives and Automation credential and the International Society of Automation Certified Control Systems Technician (ISA CCST) credential. Students typically progress through both labs as part of the broader industrial automation training pathway, with the drives and control panel work in this lab building the foundational hands-on competence and the PLC and SCADA work building the supervisory control depth. Through the Lakshya 2047 Centre's partnership architecture, the credentials carry NSDC alignment inside India's National Skills Qualifications Framework.
Which Parul University programmes access the Industrial Drives and Control Lab?
Multiple Engineering programmes engage the lab. B.Tech in Electrical Engineering students are the primary users for the power-systems dimension. B.Tech in Mechatronics Engineering students engage the lab for combined electrical and mechanical control work. B.Tech in Mechanical Engineering students engage in mechatronic integration with mechanical systems. B.Tech in Electronics and Communication Engineering students engage in the IoT integration dimension. B.Tech in Robotics and Automation students engage in the underlying motor and control work that supports robotics. Diploma, undergraduate, postgraduate, and PhD students access the lab at appropriate technical depth.
How does the lab support students who want to set up their own manufacturing operations?
The build-from-scratch model of the lab's training is directly applicable to setting up small-scale industrial operations. Students who have built control panels in the lab from empty enclosures to functioning industrial control systems have developed the practical skills required to safely wire and automate their own production lines. They know how to select the right components, how to design power units for safety, how to isolate panels to prevent short circuits, and how to integrate IoT modules for remote monitoring and control. The skill set is what an industrial entrepreneur actually needs to set up production lines safely and cost-effectively. The PIERC startup pipeline connects this entrepreneurial training to incubation and funding pathways for students who want to take manufacturing ventures to market.
What role do Variable Frequency Drives play in modern industrial energy efficiency?
VFDs are the structural energy-saving infrastructure of modern industrial systems. In any factory, machines do not always require full power. A fan running at one speed can be set to one speed only, reducing electricity consumption substantially compared with running at full power continuously. VFDs let operators set the exact amount of current passing into a machine based on actual demand rather than running at maximum capacity constantly. The cumulative energy savings across a factory floor are substantial, which is why VFDs have become standard infrastructure in modern manufacturing operations focused on cost control and sustainability. The lab's training on VFD operation gives students the technical foundation for the energy-management work that modern industrial operations increasingly prioritise.
