Prez asks central varsities to set up centres of excellence

New Delhi, February 7, 2013: President Pranab Mukherjee has asked the country's 40 central universities to establish a new centre each in their establishment which will collaborate for knowledge and innovation within the county and outside.

The President told this to the conference of the Vice Chancellors convened in New Delhi on February 5, a Rashtrapati Bhawan statement said today.

The President "called upon the universities to establish atleast one centre of excellence each and to enhance collaboration with specialists from India and abroad."

He also called upon the VCs to make greater use of the information technology tools made available by Ministry of Human Resource Development and promised that he himself would be available to interact with students and teachers through video conferencing.

The President asked the VCs that they should also identify inspired teachers to interact with each other as well as students.

"Innovation Clubs should be set up in each university and exhibitions of innovations be organised," Mukherjee told the top academicians after the deliberations of the day-long conference.

"The President called upon the VCs and the Ministry of Human Resource Development to try and fill up vacancies to faculty positions within six months to the best extent possible and assured that vacancies of Visitor's nominees would also be filled up in three to six months," the statement added.

The President also told the conference that during his future visits to universities he would interact with inspired teachers and innovators.

Mukherjee told the VCs that the recommendations made in the conference will be examined in detail by HRD Ministry for speedy implementation and also suggested the setting up of a committee of VCs to follow up on the recommendations.

The VCs in their recommendations said they should have "freedom to recruit short-term faculty and young faculty from India and abroad at various levels as well as institution of post-doctoral positions".

Relaxation, in terms of experience, in case of outstanding scholars for recruitment purposes was also suggested by the participating VCs, the statement added.

The suggestions included that each university connects itself with the community- identify a cluster of affiliates and create a consortium of stakeholders.

Universities will nurture and develop 'Lok Vidya' for sharing traditional knowledge and skills, the VCs suggested.

They also suggested that exceptional researchers should be awarded the President's awards and brilliant students should get an opportunity to meet the President.

The other recommendations by the VCs stated that "Universities reach out to discover and prepare a directory of innovators, project and facilitate grass root innovators, help them with production, protection of property rights".

"Establish innovation centres/research parks in central universities where possible. Tap the local cultural reservoir and institutionalise the university's support to local arts, establish specific programmes with help of private sector," the suggestions included.

"Use of National Knowledge Network effectively in the central universities, creating greater awareness about the Information and Communications Technology (ICT) programmes of the Ministry of HRD and the National Knowledge Network (NKN)," the suggestions said.