Industry-academia partnership prog at NEHU

SHILLONG, June 13: The North-Eastern Hill University (NEHU), Shillong, hosted an ‘Industry-Academia Partnership Opportunities’ programme to enhance collaborations between academia and industry. The programme commenced with a welcome address by BK Mishra, Principal Investigator of BIRAC’s BioNEST (Bioincubators Nurturing Entrepreneurship for Scaling Technologies) scheme, who emphasised the incubator centre’s interest in future collaborations with VCA Healthcare Pvt. Ltd.
Managing Director of VCA Healthcare, VK Tripathi, outlined VCA’s objectives, which are specialising in high-quality herbal products and the manufacturing of standardised herbal ingredients and phytochemicals under strict supervision. She noted that their products cater to the pharmaceutical, cosmetic, Ayurvedic, and food industries both domestically and internationally. Tripathi also expressed VCA’s enthusiasm for future collaborations with BioNEST.
CEO of BIRAC BioNEST, S Nandy, discussed the impact of the B3I facility, grant opportunities, and capacity-building initiatives at the BIRAC incubation centre.
Prof Joshi, Director of R&D at NEHU, emphasised the importance of translating patents and technologies into practical applications, advocating for student sensitisation programmes and lauding the collaboration with BioNEST.
NEHU Vice-Chancellor Prof Prabha Shankar Shukla highlighted the significance of knowledge sharing and strengthening industry-academia relationships. He proposed awareness programmes to showcase NEHU’s expertise on national and international platforms and announced NEHU’s approval as a Section 8 company. Shukla emphasised the potential for future public-private partnerships, particularly benefiting Meghalaya.
The event showcased NEHU’s capabilities in various fields.