TEZPUR, Dec 21 - Prof Anil Kakodkar, noted nuclear scientist, former chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission of India and former Director of the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, today addressed the 15th convocation of the Tezpur University here as the chief guest. He maintained that India is the most favourably placed among all countries of the world in terms of demographic advantage.
�...(Universities) must devote themselves more intensely to knowledge creation and dissemination and lead the society rather than follow the society,� Prof Kakodkar said. Stating that the North East has a rich cultural heritage, he observed that �the region is full of natural resources and I believe that a deeper engagement between government, society and industry on the one side and students and faculty on the other around the problems and value addition chain linked to the resources of the region, and leveraging knowledge and research capability, could be a win-win situation. Students and faculty-led enterprise could become important vehicles for regional development even as they would constitute important platforms for enriched learning. They could also constitute a link between the region and the larger national enterprises creating access to market and technology,� he added.
Prof Kakodkar further observed that the quest for fundamental understanding and benefits in terms of better quality of life must go hand in hand.
It may be mentioned here that the university conferred degrees and diplomas on 1,058 students among whom 64 are PhDs, 679 are Masters, 248 are UG-BTechs/BScs/BAs, 45 are PG diploma and 22 are degree and diploma holders under the open and distance learning programmes.
Conferring the degrees and diplomas, University Chancellor Prof Jagdish Mukhi said that the Tezpur University was established for the generation of knowledge and manpower for the nation building process through the blending of regional aspirations with a national vision.
Earlier, in his speech, Vice Chancellor Prof Madan Sharma highlighted the overall development of the varsity. He added that the Tezpur University has signed MoUs to conduct collaborative research and student exchange programmes with the University of Nottingham, UK, University of Bremen, Germany, National University of Science and Technology MISiS, Russia, Russian State University, Moscow, and Avans University, Netherlands.
