Date:07/11/2009 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2009/11/07/stories/2009110751730400.htm

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

More industry-academia research partnerships called for

Special Correspondent

— Photo: S.R. Raghunathan

Well done: Minister of State for Human Resource Development D. Purandeswari gives a scholarship to a student at a function organised by Vel Tech Dr. RR and Dr. SR Technical University near Chennai on Thursday. Sakunthala Rangarajan, Pro-Chancellor, and Rangarajan Mahalakshmi, Vice-Chancellor, are in the picture.

CHENNAI: Union Minister of State for Human Resource Development D. Purandeswari on Thursday called for increased industry-academia research partnerships to develop relevant solutions.

Distributing Vel Tech Mahatma Gandhi National Merit Scholarships under the auspices of Vel Tech Dr. RR and Dr. SR Technical University, Ms. Purandeswari said such tie-ups would facilitate a win-win situation where the industry got solutions and the research students became tuned to market realities.

Ms. Purandeswari urged IITians had worked abroad to associate with institutions and universities to enrich students with their knowledge and exposure to the West.

To the young audience in front of her, her advice was that even if many of them went to alien shores in search of job opportunities, they should give back to the country. The students of today had a great responsibility in fulfilling India’s aspirations of becoming an economic super power, she said.

“You should not just be ambassadors of our educational system but also of our rich culture.” Ms. Purandeswari said though there had been an exponential growth in higher education, the Gross Enrolment Ratio for higher learning now stood at 12 per cent as against the 60-70 per cent ratio in countries like the U.S. and Canada.

While infrastructure, laboratories or library facilities held the key to quality education, it was the faculty that had a great responsibility in cultivating the latent talents of students, she said.

The Minister distributed scholarships to 128 students from all over India.

Rangarajan Mahalakshmi, Vice-Chancellor, Vel Tech Dr. RR and Dr. SR Technical University, called for a single regulatory mechanism for higher education that would do away with cumbersome procedures.

N. Ram, Editor-in-Chief, The Hindu, said the success of a great educational institution was gauged as much by academic programmes, quality of faculty, transparency of admissions and infrastructure as by the access it provided to students from all socio-economic strata.

Pointing out that one of the challenges in education was resolving the conflict between the pursuit of excellence and retaining access to students, Mr. Ram said the Vel Group of institutions had been open-handed and farsighted in its vision.

Nainan Thariyan, Assistant Vice-President, Bennet Coleman and Co, said the need of the hour was to empower young minds to pursue their dreams and careers and not to allow paucity of funds to stand in their way.

R. Rangarajan, founder-Chancellor and Sakunthala Rangarajan, Pro-Chancellor, also participated.