Delegation from European Union explores areas of collaboration in research & innovation at RGU
Source: IT News

Itanagar, April 05 2019: The Rajiv Gandhi University (RGU) today 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 organized the interaction programme.

In his opening remarks, 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 border 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" .

The presence of the entire Team RGU, comprising of former Vice-Chancellor Prof Tamo Mibang, Registrar Prof Tomo Riba, officers of the administration, all Deans, HoDs and the large number of faculty members, research scholars and PG students only reflects the tremendous interest that this visit has generated", he said.

Kick starting 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" .

Highlighting the tremendous growth of the RGU in the last 10 years, he shared that the University has not only grown in the number of Departments it had from 15 in 2009-10 to 28 presently, but even enrolment has increased from 878 students to 2067 .

He also shared that through its various research projects and collaborations, the RGU has created a very congenial research ecosystem.

Terming the visit of the EU delegation as very significant he said that the fact that EU is India's largest trading partner and that India is one of ten countries that the EU has chosen as strategic partners, this makes for people to people contact and cooperation in higher education a key feature of this interface and hoped for a new era of fruitful academic cooperation.

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.

All speakers commended the RGU on the innovative research initiatives and studies that were already in place in the University and said that this provided for a fertile ground for academic engagements in the future.

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" .

The members also emphasized on the need for a mix of stakeholders in the research initiatives and suggested for a multi-disciplinary approach in conceptualizing the proposals where the focus could be on (new) technologies but also on how they impact society.

Earlier, RGU Dean of Life Sciences Prof.RK Singh made an in-depth presentation on the unique biodiversity of Arunachal, highlighting the significance of the diverse flora and fauna that the State holds.

Giving a detailed brief on various on-going and completed important research projects that the University has taken up, Prof Singh highlighted the RGU's potential as a major research partner that the EU could collaborate with.Prof Jumyir Basar from the Arunachal Institute of Tribal Studies in her presentation spoke of how the RGU was upholding its mandate to engage with the communities of the State and the issues confronting them.

Detailing some of the achievements of the University in the areas of Social Science and Humanities research, she highlighted that the RGU was the only University to have compiled a Human Development Report as also the State Development Report for Arunachal.

She also put forward thrust research areas that the EU and RGU could collaborate on.

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