CLRI: A centre of excellence in HRD
Right from its inception in 1948 as one of the laboratories coming under the umbrella of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), India, the Central Leather Research Institute (CLRI) has been a front -runner in the Indian Leather Scenario. CLRI has been involved in industrial research for almost five decades. With the emphasis on leather research, the institute-industry link became stronger and vibrant. One of the prime areas that CLRI has concentrated on is Human Resource Development. Being an institute with strengths in many areas of not only applied science but also fundamental research, CLRI has pooled in its research resources to tackle the task of catering to almost every need of human redipurce development in the area of leather technology. Keeping abreast of the problems of the industry and providing the solutions, CLRI has been able to fine-tune over the years its traditional interaction withthe Industry and extend this interaction to the Academy also. This free way interaction other than proving to be symbiotic, has helped in setting up the base for a unique centre of excellence in the area of Human Resource Development.

Education and training at CLRI
CLRI feeling the pulse of the industry has chalked out an exhaustive agenda in providing professional and vocational training in the area of leather technology. With its sights on long term gains, this education and training programme has been augmented by research interests as well. The courses have been so structured and designed in order that the needs of a wide target group could be catered to. The theme behind the design of the courses is highlighted in Fig 1

The training programmes organise at CLRI can be conceptually classified into two categories. The first category consists of courses with academic linkages. The academic programmes are controlled with the concordance of various universities. The traditional link with the Academy has led to a number of academic programmes being offered by CLRI in collaboration with various Universities. A 4 year B.Tech programme in Leather Technology, a 1X year M. Tech programme in Leather Technology and a 1X year M. Tech (Footwear Science and Engineering) programme which is the first of its kind in the country are being conducted at CLRI. To provide vocational training within the framework of Engineering Education a 4 years Master of Vocational Sciences programme in Footwear Technology is also offered. In addition, Ph.D. programmes in pure science, applied science and technology are conducted in conjunction with various universities. The list of Academic Programmes are shown in Table 1.

Globalization of education in the area of Leather Technology is one of the priorities of CLRI. The strengths of CLRI in imparting such training is recognised by many countries all Over the world and periodically specialized fraining is offered for foreign nationals. These training programmes are often tailor-made to suit the specific·fic requirements of the Participating members. Foreign nationals from over 60 countries have received training at the Institute. Table 2 lists the international training conducted by CLRI in the past five years.

Realising the importance of the Industry-Institute interaction, the second category of Programmes conducted at CLRI caters to training requirements of the leather industry. These Programmes with industrial linkages are conducted integrally by CLRI. These programmes cater to a wide spectrum of human resource development requirements in the leather industry. Ranging from programmes that are introductory in nature, to programmes that keep the industry routinely abreast of the technological advances and those that tackle the immediate requirements of the industry such as environmental issues are offered at CLRI. The list of programmes catering to the industry requirements are listed in Tables 3a and 3b.