Lucknow, Jan. 15: The Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, will open a study-cum-placement extension centre at Noida at a cost of Rs 25 crore to interact more closely with industrial houses which have set up offices there.

The IIT was facing problems in sending students to the Noida-based companies from Kanpur, once an industrialised city, from where units are shifting. Besides, entrepreneurs are reluctant to visit Kanpur as flight connections from Delhi are not available.

The Uttar Pradesh government has allocated four acres for the project, IIT-Kanpur director S.G. Dhande said.

“Multinational companies have been finding it tough to conduct placements,” a senior professor said. “It was becoming difficult to keep contacts with former students based in foreign countries as lecturers. They are willing to visit for guest lectures but cannot directly reach here for lack of air links.”