1st NIT convocation held in Shillong
SHILLONG: Former chairman of Atomic Energy Commission, Dr Anil Kakodkar on Saturday underlined the need to bridge the gap that exists between the academia and industry to ensure that engineering and technological institutions in the country are comparable with the best in the world.
“We should be able to identify individuals and groups who do research that can be compared with the best in the world and support them liberally,” Dr Kakodkar said while addressing the 1st convocation of the National Institute of Technology here.
Out of the 83 students who completed their B-Tech programme in NIT, Shillong 15 students were handed over their degrees during the first convocation on Saturday.
According to the former chairman of Atomic Energy Commission, there is a need to create an environment that incubates industrial enterprise making use of the research and development carried out in the institutions and churns out several new technological ventures.
Acknowledging that there are special development challenges in the Northeast, the nuclear scientist said the northeastern states have rich natural resource endowment on one side and a significant access and connectivity challenge on the other.
He said that there are large opportunities for developing relevant technology solutions that are appropriate to the local conditions.
“Eight NITs and other technological and higher education institutions in the region have thus a special opportunity to contribute to regional development and raise the quality of education in the institutions at the same time,” Dr Kakodkar said.
Speaking further, the former Uranium Corporation of India Limited (UCIL) Chairman said the government should make education more holistic and create an ecosystem that nurtures the spirit of innovation among the youngsters.
“For this purpose, there is a need to bridge a considerable gap that exists between the academia and industry. We need to explore opportunities to work together in a variety of mutually beneficial ways to create conditions of mutual trust and confidence,” Dr Kakodkar said.
Stating that there are many possibilities of technology being brought to bear on societal issues, Dr Kadkokar said opportunities should be explored to engage in research and development of relevance to society.
“This is of particular significance in the context of agriculture and rural development.
“Our students getting exposed to such activities would not only give them a good problem solving experience but also emotionally bind them with India in true sense,” Dr Kakodkar added. (With inputs from UNI)