AICTE eyes skill upgrade centres in NE

SHILLONG: The All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) plans to augment resources for the Northeast to set up skill development centres and sponsor students to participate in programmes at national and international levels.
“AICTE and Indian Society for Technical Education (ISTE) are working hand in hand across the country to improve infrastructure and teaching methods in institutions imparting technical and engineering courses. Now, we shall stress on augmenting resources for the Northeast for scholarships, setting up skills and personality development centres and sponsoring students to participate in programmes at both national and international levels,” AICTE adviser, Dileep N Malkhede AICTE, said while delivering the inaugural session of the 20th ISTE Students’ National Convention in Guwahati on Saturday.
The convention was hosted jointly by Regional Institute of Science & Technology (RIST) and University of Science & Technology Meghalaya (USTM) at RIST campus.
Over 1,000 participants including about a hundred from across the country were present at the programme.
Incidentally, this is the first time that such a national level convention of technical students is taking place in the North East.
Prof Pratapsinh K. Desai, president of ISTE, New Delhi said that as the leading national professional non-profit making society for the technical education system in India, ISTE has a very large and effective membership base throughout the country.
Prof Dhiraj Bora, vice chancellor of Assam Science & Technology University, stressed on the need for conservation of environment and urged the student community to take a leading role in this sphere.
Mahbubul Hoque, chancellor of USTM requested the ISTE functionaries to invite corporates and technocrats in future conventions so that students could interact with them. Many such invitees, he said, could be the future employers of these students.
The concluding remarks at the inaugural session were made by Prof NK Choudhury, chief academic adviser of ERDF. Earlier, the dignitaries released a souvenir published to mark the occasion.
Several national and state level awards were also presented at the inaugural session. A robotics football competition, quiz, model and paper presentation on the theme, “Technological transformation: a futuristic approach”, and many other engrossing events followed the inaugural session, a press statement issued here said.