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Modi urges IIT-G to help NE states fight disasters at virtual convocation

Modi urges IIT-G to help NE states fight disasters at virtual convocation

Guwahati, Sep 22 (UNI) Calling for a fusion of traditional knowledge and modern science for evolving new technologies, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today urged students to focus on local issues while moving towards a bigger canvas.
Speaking at the 22nd Convocation of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Guwahati, held as a virtual event in which 1,803 students received their degrees, Modi stressed on the role of the youth in transforming the nation. Tushar Yadav was awarded the Dr Shankar Dayal Sharma Gold Medal for the academic year 2019-20, and Shubham Goel was the winner of the President of India Gold Medal.
Modi said, “I firmly believe that the future of the nation is what the youth thinks today. Your dreams are going to shape the reality of India. The youth of today have to be future ready.”
Pointing to the contribution of the NE region in the lives of the IIT-Guwahati students, he called upon them to explore means to connect their research with the potentials of the region and explore how ‘fusion between traditional knowledge and modern science can lead to new technology’.
He also urged the IIT-Guwahati to use its expertise in helping the state governments of North Eastern region to tackle the various natural and other disasters, which have been having a negative impact on the development prospects of the region and called upon the IIT-Guwahati to form a ‘Centre for Disaster Management and Risk Reduction’ for the region.
Modi said, “The NE is full of possibilities. But it has problems of floods, earthquakes, landslides and industrial disasters also, and the governments have to spend their time tackling these.”
He pointed that the ‘high degree of technological support and knowledge’ that the IIT-Guwahati can provide could go a long way in mitigating these, and urged the Institute to set up a Centre for the purpose.
He lauded the role of the IIT-Guwahati during the ongoing pandemic and coming forward with its research to help through the COVID 19 situation by developing various kits and test equipments.
The prime minister stressed that the local issues should always be on focus and only after, it should be expanded to a bigger canvas.
Underlining that NE is at the centre of ‘Act East Policy’ and is the ‘gateway to South East Asia’, the prime minister also stressed the role of IIT-Guwahati as an institution in various sectors of development, and especially in the education sector.
He dwelt at length on the National Education Policy (NEP), 2020, highlighting that it has been formulated to make India a ‘global education destination’ and encourage inter-disciplinary studies, with more freedom to students to pursue their interests.
Referring to the unprecedented current situation, the prime minister said under normal circumstances, he would have been physically present at the Convocation today.
He said, “A convocation is always a special day. This time, the experience is different due to the pandemic. But my best wishes are with the students for their future efforts.”
While addressing the event, Union Education Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ said, “IIT Guwahati is one of the best institutes in different sectors like research, innovation and rankings. IIT Guwahati has also worked towards the idea of Atmanirbhar Bharat during COVID-19 pandemic. Convocation is not end of education but a new beginning.”
Delivering his address, Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said, “The Institute has produced globally competitive human resources and carried out research that has significantly benefited the society. This shows the commitment of the faculty and students of the Institute”
“IIT-Guwahati has played an important role in assisting the state government in fighting COVID 19. I acknowledge and thank IIT-Guwahati team for their contribution in developing the COVID-19 kits and other infrastructure help,” he added.
Presenting the Director’s Report, Prof. TG Sitharam, Director, IIT Guwahati, said, “It is noteworthy to mention that the research dimension of IIT Guwahati is broadening significantly and the same is now reflected in terms of multiple industrially funded collaborative research with close cooperation with Industry partners.”
“There are 291 research projects in progress with a total sanctioned value of about Rs. 437.00 crore. In the year under report, we received 131 new projects with a sanctioned value of Rs. 183.00 crore. A total of 153 new consultancy projects were carried out during the year. The total value of consultancy projects undertaken during this year is Rs. 10.76 crores and Rs. 11.27 crores was received for all consultancies,” he added.
He further said, “The number of publications during the past one year is 2112 (Scopus 2019). In the previous year, 1853 (Scopus 2018) research papers were published by the faculty of the Institute. The Institute has applied for 31 patents in 2019–2020.”
For the Convocation, to celebrate the graduate's accomplishments online through virtual mode, the Institute had created a virtual reality-based award distribution where one could experience an avatar of the recipient of the award collecting a medal from Director's own avatar surrogating him, from the comfort of their home.
The Institute had also created a photo-booth, with an option of different backgrounds, for students to take pictures at some selected locations on the campus.
IIT Guwahati’s faculty and students had developed a telepresence module for a virtual visit to the Institute.
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