Former President of India Ram Nath Kovind will inaugurate a three-day national conference of vice-chancellors on transformative higher education for “Atmanirbhar Bharat” at the University of Science and Technology Meghalaya (USTM) on Thursday. Organized by the Association of Indian Universities (AIU), a 97-year-old premier higher education institution. Six new faces, including four BJP leaders and former Supreme Court judge S Abdul Nazeer, were appointed as governors. The final technical session of the National Conference of Vice-Chancellors discussed three sub-themes, namely “Technology-based personalized teaching-learning models,” “Changing role of teachers as facilitators,” and “Preparing the students for future jobs.”
Assam Governor Gulab Chand Kataria expressed his optimism for India becoming a “Vishwaguru” again through knowledge, dedication, and service. The governor made the statement while he was the chief guest of the valedictory session of the National Conference of Vice-Chancellors on “Transformative Higher Education for Atma Nirbhar Bharat” held at the University of Science and Technology Meghalaya (USTM) last Saturday. The three-day conference, which aimed to discuss “Future of Education, Learning and Workplace,” was organized by the Association of Indian Universities (AIU) and USTM from March 23 to 25. It was the first time a private university in Northeast India had hosted the event.
In the conference, the guests of honor for the valedictory session were Atul Kothari, national secretary of Shiksha Sanskriti Utthan Nyas; Meghalaya education minister Rakkam A Sangma; and Dr. Nani Gopal Mahanta, education advisor of the Government of Assam. The welcome address was made by Prof G D Sharma, the vice president of AIU and vice-chancellor of USTM, while the presidential address was delivered by Prof Suranjan Das, the president of AIU and VC of Jadavpur University, Kolkata.
Governor Kataria congratulated Mahbubul Hoque, the chancellor of USTM, for establishing a people’s university, unparalleled in the region. The Assam governor also appreciated AIU and all the vice-chancellors from the Northeast states for participating in the conference held at USTM. In his concluding statement, he expressed his hope that India would become a Vishwaguru again based on knowledge, dedication, and service.
The conference report was presented by Dr. S Rama Devi Pani, editor of University News, AIU, and the event was preceded by a technical session on “Future of Education, Learning and Workplace.” Overall, the conference was a significant academic event that discussed the future of education and its impact on India’s self-reliance.
The final technical session of the National Conference of Vice-Chancellors discussed three sub-themes, namely “Technology-based personalised teaching-learning models,” “Changing role of teachers as facilitators,” and “Preparing the students for future jobs.” The session was chaired by Prof. Ranbir Singh, the former President of AIU and chancellor of IILM University, Gurugram, and co-chaired by Prof. Bhushan Patwardhan, the former vice-chairman of UGC and former chairman of EC, NAAC.
The speakers in the session were Prof. M M Pant, former pro-vice-chancellor of IGNOU (online); Prof. Marmar Mukhopadhyay, former director of NIEPA, and Prof. Parameswar K Iyer, the director of IIT Guwahati. The AIU general and business sessions followed the technical session.
Over 500 vice-chancellors and directors of higher education institutions from India and abroad participated in the three-day conference. The conference was inaugurated by the former President of India, Ram Nath Kovind, who urged universities to have a global outlook.
On the first day of the conference, Bibek Debroy, the chairman of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister, and Assam education minister Ranoj Pegu were among the dignitaries present. On the second day, vice-chancellors and heads of top institutions discussed transformative higher education and how it could contribute to a self-reliant India through “minimum government and maximum governance.”
AICTE Vice-Chairman Abhay Jere chaired the second technical session on “Minimum Government: Maximum Governance- What does it mean for the universities?” Jere emphasized the importance of developing a ranking model that reflects the Indian context, rather than relying on Western models.
Sastra University Vice-Chancellor S Vaidhyasubramaniam shared that the institution has been working on an informal project called “One Nation One Data” for the past year and a half. The project aims to create a unified platform that aggregates data from universities and provides it to agencies such as NAAC, NIRF, and UGC. This single pool of data will help higher education institutions in various ways.
The third technical session on “Reforms for Holistic Education” focused on sub-themes such as “Promoting Outcome Based Learning,” “Integrating skills with higher education,” and “Innovative Assessment and Evaluation Techniques.”
Former President of India Ram Nath Kovind will inaugurate a three-day national conference of vice-chancellors on transformative higher education for “Atmanirbhar Bharat” at the University of Science and Technology Meghalaya (USTM) on Thursday. The conference is being organised by the Association of Indian Universities (AIU), a 97-year-old premier higher education institution. Additionally, on Sunday, six new faces, including four BJP leaders and former Supreme Court judge S Abdul Nazeer, were appointed as governors.
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