GovTech Secretary Jigme Tenzing and CIT President Joichi Ito signing the MoU
The Government Technology (GovTech) Agency of Bhutan and Japan’s Chiba Institute of Technology (CIT) have signed a detailed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), marking a significant commitment of collaboration between CIT and GovTech.
The MoU follows the previous agreement signed on December 17, 2023, between GovTech, Druk Holding and Investments (DHI) and CIT. The earlier agreement facilitated collaboration in the areas of education including student exchange between the institutions, technology, and digital infrastructure development.
Building on these achievements, the current MoU focuses specifically on satellite research and capacity building. A core element of the collaboration will involve students from the Royal University of Bhutan (RUB) designing, developing, and assembling a payload. These students will be supervised by space engineers from GovTech, who will provide hands-on training and ensure the project aligns with Bhutan’s national space ambitions. The payload will then be integrated into a satellite bus developed by CIT students under the CIT-Gardens initiative. The MoU has been signed for 5 years, every year a payload developed by RUB students will be launched with the satellite developed by CIT students from 2026 until 2030.
The project will equip students with hands-on experience in satellite technology, and position them to contribute meaningfully to Bhutan’s growing space sector.
The Secretary of GovTech, Jigme Tenzing, highlighted the MoU’s importance in advancing Bhutan’s space technology ambitions, noting that “this collaboration will expand Bhutan’s educational capacity for meeting His Majesty’s vision of using space to inspire the youth and harness the benefits of space for the people of Bhutan.”
Commenting on the collaboration, Joi Ito, President of CIT said “This partnership represents a new chapter for the CIT-Bhutan relationship and an exciting opportunity for our students. Through this collaboration, we hope to equip the next generation of engineers with the global perspective necessary to contribute to the rapidly evolving technology sector.”