GUWAHATI: University Vice chancellors and heads of higher educational institutions from the North East Indian met on Friday over a brainstorming session on “South East Asia-Indian North East: Collaborative Higher Education Perspective” and formed an association suggested as “South East Asia as Intellectual Leader for a Better World.”
The association would lead for collaborative work with institutions in South East Asian countries. The programme was initiated and organized by the University of Science and Technology Meghalaya (USTM) in association with National Law University and Judicial Academy Assam (NLUJAA), Institute of Advanced Study in Science and Technology (IASST), Assam Science and Technology University (ASTU), Srimanta Sankaradeva University of Health Sciences (SSUHS), Tezpur University (TU) and Cotton University (CU). This new platform of higher education institutions has also decided that the first international convention in this direction would be held in the month of April 2020.
The meeting has formed an association with Dr Mridul Hazarika, Principal Advisor USTM as the President, Prof NC Talukdar, Director, IASST as the Vice President, Dr J S Patil, VC, National Law University as the Working President, Dr Dhiraj Bora, VC, Assam Science and Technology University as the Organizing Secretary, Prof Vinod Kumar Jain, VC Tezpur University as the Patron while Dr PK Goswami, VC, USTM, Prof Dipika Deka,VC, SSUHS, Prof Bhabesh Chandra Goswami, VC Cotton University apart from others as founding Members.
It was decided that two universities from each SE Asian countries would be invited to be part of the organizing committee for the proposed international convention in April.
Mahbubul Hoque, Chancellor of USTM and the key initiator in formation of this association of higher educational institutions of the North East India and South East Asia said, “It is time that all educational institutions come forward and join hands to work together for educational, sports and cultural activities and make out Northeast a global destination”.
Dr J S Patil stated that “there is a need to develop a kind of philosophy which binds us together as an organization and only then we’ll become torch bearers in bringing real educational vision”. The only way to equate ourselves with the western world is to dominate intellectually, he added.