Vice Prez calls for R&D in higher educational institutes to solve societal problems, industry tie-ups & Pvt Sector funding

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Mumbai: Vice President of India, M Venkaiah Naidu on Monday touched upon the topic of Research and Development (R&D) in institutions of higher learning, R&D tie-ups between industry and higher educational institutions, and private sector funding of R&D. He said this while inaugurating the Diamond Jubilee Celebrations of Delhi IIT. He argued that research at IITs and other higher education institutes must be relevant to society and focus on finding solutions to various problems faced by mankind from climate change to health issues.

He added that Indian institutions of higher education will be counted among the world’s best only when they start impacting the societies around them by developing optimal and sustainable solutions to the problems faced by the nation.

The Vice President of India called for greater investment in R & D projects which focus on finding solutions to societal problems. He urged the private sector to collaborate with academia in identifying such projects and fund them liberally.

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu emphasised that research should focus on making the lives of people comfortable, quicken the progress and ensure a more equitable world order. He further called upon the IITians to pay more attention to the problems faced by the farmers and rural India. Vice President Naidu asked them to work not only for enhancing Agri-production, but also give special focus on production of nutritious and protein rich food.

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The Vice President urged the higher education institutions not to work in silos and develop a symbiotic relationship with the industry to develop cutting-edge technology. He called upon industry experts in various areas to act as mentors in guiding researchers. “This type of collaboration will help in fast-tracking projects and produce quicker results”, he added.   

Expressing his happiness that the New Education Policy (NEP) seeks to promote India as a global study destination, Naidu pointed out that only eight Indian institutions figured in the top 500 globally.

He said this situation has to change and there has to be a concerted and collective action from all the stakeholders – governments, universities, educationists and the private sector to bring about a radical improvement in the standards and quality of education of our institutes of higher learning.

Observing that there is a huge potential for India to become a world leader in various technological domains given the demographic advantage and the presence of highly talented youth, the Vice President said “the need of the hour is to impart quality education”.