President Urges on Cross-Discipline Collaboration During Meeting with Central University Heads
President Ram Nath Kovind chaired a meeting of the Head of Central Universities and Institutes of Higher Education, where he pressed on the matter of research collaborations, alumni participation and filling up the vacancies. He emphasized on cross-category collaborations during the meeting.
On 14th December 2019, 46 Heads of Central Universities and Institutes of Higher Learning had been hosted at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. Ram Nath Kovind, the President of India, presided over the meeting, where, presentations from different sub-groups had been organized on higher education issues like research partnerships, alumni funding, and filling up the vacancies.
At the conclusion of the meeting, President Ram Nath Kovind stated that India is on the path for sustainable development with its initiatives to eradicate poverty. He further added that all the institutes, individually, will contribute to the socio-economic development objectives of India.
During the concluding speech, he stated that the Central Agricultural Universities can use the resources to support the promotion of sustainable agricultural practices which will also benefit the farmers of the nation, through intensive research initiatives. He urged the other institutes to take up similar initiatives in their respective areas, like aviation , pharmaceutical , IT , Architecture , Design , Petroleum and Energy , Oceanography and other disciplines.
President Kovind further stated that the Institutes and Universities have the authority to offer and produce skilled and qualified talent, that can facilitate the process of innovation and pave a path for sustainable and eco-friendly development.
As per one of the statements made by the President of India, Institutes and Universities must take initiatives to support “cross-category collaborations”. He stated that all institutes while designing their courses, must try to collaborate and learn from other institutes. This can be possible for institutes of similar disciplines, but also for those from different disciplines.
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While talking on cross-category collaborations, he gave the example of advances in IT (Information Technology) which can be used to support “Architects and Town Planners” in designing Smart Cities in reducing their energy consumptions.
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Along with suggestions on inter-disciplinary collaborations, the President also asserted on the importance of current Institute leaders to mentor the future generations of academic leaders and administrators. He stated that the process will help in developing a “pool of directors, deans, and administrators” with the ability to administrate, establish and conceive ideas for higher education in the future.