JORABAT, Aug 8 - The promulgation of Unnat Bharat Abhiyan (UBA) by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), Government of India, is a real paradigm shift of the learning process of higher educational institutes of the country, said Prof VK Vijay, National Coordinator, UBA, IIT Delhi.
Prof Vijay made this remark while speaking at a webinar �Fostering UBA, a commitment of HEI�s beyond campus: Issues and challenges� organised by the Internal Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC) of Sonapur College on Saturday.
Underscoring the necessity of doing welfare-centric research, Prof Vijay said that the UBA, launched in 2014 as a flagship programme, has provided an opportunity to faculties and students of higher educational institutes to learn the real-life challenges and the traditional wisdom of the rural people. Students and faculty members of more than forty-five thousand HEIs can contribute towards finding sustainable solutions to the plights of the rural people by utilising the innovative technologies, he said.
At the webinar, attended by a large number of faculties and other participants from across the country, Prof Vivek Kumar, Co-Coordinator, UBA, also from IIT Delhi, presented some success stories of UBA attributed to different institutes of the country including IITs. Deliberating on the topic, Prof Kumar said that the UBA is mooted on the fundamental ethos of science and technology intervention, research reorientation, participatory approach and the convergence of funds and knowledge.
The webinar was held under the chairmanship of Prof Sashindra Kr Kakoty, Regional Coordinator, UBA, IIT Guwahati, who also deliberated on the issue with the help of a powerpoint presentation on some successful initiatives of his institute towards rural transformation.
After the presentations and deliberations by the resource persons, there was an interactive session on the theme where Prof Kakoty dealt with the queries of the participants appropriately with his skill and wisdom.
Earlier, Dr Biman Patowary, Coordinator, IQAC, Sonapur College introduced the resource persons and spoke about the background of the webinar. Dr Devabrot Khanikor, Principal of the host college delivered the welcome address. The vote of thanks was offered by Dr Sinam Iboton Singh, Coordinator of UBA Cell of the college.
