GUWAHATI: The Rajiv Gandhi University (RGU) in Arunachal Pradesh on Thursday hosted a delegation from the European Union for an interaction on areas of possible collaboration in research and innovation.
The EU delegation comprised of Ms. Tania Friederichs (Head of EU delegation), Dr. Vivek Dham (Member, EU delegation), Ms. Inger Midtkandal (Royal Norwegian Embassy), Dr. Srinivas Kaveri (Director, CNRS, Paris), Mr. Alain Ghislain Baetens (Embassy of Belgium), Dr. Massimo Spandoni (Embassy of Italy) and Dr. Jakob Williams Oerberg (Royal Danish Embassy). The Internal Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC) of the University organised the interaction programme, according to a RGU communiqué.
The RGU Vice-Chancellor Prof. Saket Kushwaha, while introducing the University to the visiting dignitaries, said that the RGU has been striving to serve its mandate of providing access to higher education as well as contributing to research in the frontier state of Arunachal Pradesh.
Expressing his gratitude to the EU delegation for its initiative to reach out the RGU, he said that the University and its entire fraternity are enthused at the possibilities of affiliation and collaboration and congratulated each of the departments in working together to formalize the presentations that were made by the University.
Setting the ball rolling for the series of presentations, IQAC Director Prof. Amitav Mitra, outlined the history of the RGU and shared about the mandate of the University, which was not only to “educate and train manpower for the development of the State of Arunachal Pradesh, but also to pay special attention to the improvement of the social and economic conditions and welfare of the people of the State, their intellectual, academic and cultural development”.
Marking the start of a series of presentations on the EU MS/AC-India research-funding programme by the visiting team, delegation head Tania Friedrichs shared that research and innovation cooperation was an integral part of the EU’s relation with India and called out for the University to engage more with the instruments of research that the EU offers. Describing the present visit just as a beginning of a long-term engagement, she said that the EU has an implementing arrangement with India that included scholar mobility programs, individual fellowships as well as bilateral and multilateral collaborations.
Other presenters of the delegation each from Belgium, France, Italy, Denmark and Norway shared the respective country perspectives on thrust areas of possible funding and collaborations.
Concurring with the RGU’s mandate and its respect for biological and cultural diversity, the need for sustainable development and the idea that change elements must benefit all sections of society, the members of the delegation expressed their support towards activating instruments through which “we could internationalize future research and innovation initiatives”.
