Indian Institute of Packaging (IIP), which has completed 25 years in providing two-year full time diploma course in packaging, is now planning to start a B Tech course in packaging by 2012. The Institute also plans to set up a Research & Development (R&D) centre in packaging education in 5 years from now.

The B Tech course will be a 4-year degree course in packaging which will start early next year.

The diploma course at the institute in its Mumbai centre consists of 100 students in each batch, wherein 50 per cent is for reserved quota. The student with the background of science, engineering and pharma has a good advantage and are given training by the experts of the institute. Apart from Mumbai, the diploma course is also offered at the Institute's branches at Hyderabad, Delhi and Kolkata.

"The technical know how about the product design and technology is the main strength of this course and enables a student to understand how the product is handled and how a new product is packed and designed," said N C Saha, director, IIP.

With 45 years old brand value, this Institute conducts a series of workshop on food packaging thus reaching out to the grassroot levels. Having headquarters in Delhi and two branches each in Guwahati and Hyderabad the Institute has published 7000 book.

Almost all the candidates of the Institute are regularly picked up by the leading companies like Hindustan Unilever, Cadbury India, ITC, Procter and Gamble, GlaxoSmithKline, Dr Reddy's, etc. in campus recruitments.