SRINAGAR: Governor N.N Vohra, Chancellor of the University of Kashmir, urged scientists and researchers in the State universities to undertake research which is relevant to the problems of the State.
Addressing 13th session of the J&K Science Congress at the University of Kashmir, the Governor said: “I have been having discussions with the Vice-Chancellors of all the four State Universities and repeatedly stressing that unless the universities-their scientists, humanists, and all the teachers-undertake research which is related to the problems faced by the people of the state, they shall continue to exist as standalone institutions. If universities, particularly their scientists, get involved in the problems of the state and help the state governments to resolve them, for instance the problem of Dal Lake, problems of receding levels of ground water etc., they would be able to render invaluable support to the advancement of the welfare goals of governance.”
The theme of the Science Congress is “Emerging Technologies and Human Society: Applications and Constraints”.
Governor observed that the annual sessions of the Science Congress provide a very useful opportunity for the scientists in the host university, and those who participate from the other universities in the State and from various other parts of the country, and senior science students who are doing their PhDs to deliberate on some of the major problems facing the state.
Governor called for making the best and the correct and right use of science and technology and cautioned against misuse for purposes which are not for advancing the welfare of living beings.
“If scientists from the Kashmir University and those from all the other universities in the State, including the two Farm Universities get involved in finding solution to the problems of J&K we shall be able to achieve rapid progress.
Governor said that Kashmir University has a very high potential of emerging as one of the top universities in the country, especially in the arena of science, if the Faculty works with devotion and zeal and inculcates meritocracy in the academic and research arenas and totally discourages any manner offavouritism or groupism.
In his welcome address, Vice Chancellor Prof Khurshid Iqbal Andrabi, said that the University has undertaken several reforms and transparency measures and has figured among the top 100 universities in the National Institutional Ranking Framework-2017 and also among the top universities in BRICS. He thanked the Chancellor for his continued and sustained support in the development and progress of the University.
This Science Congress has been supported by the J&K State Science, Technology & Innovation Council, Government of J&K; Department of Science and Technology Government of India; Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), Government of India and the Jammu and Kashmir Bank.
Prof RP Tandon from the University of Delhi and Prof Zafar A Reshi, Dean Research and Co-Convener Science Congress, also addressed the inaugural session, which was attended by several hundred research scholars and students.