To establish a mutually beneficial relationship based on academic and scientific cooperation and to establish collaborative programmes and other academic exchanges, North-Eastern Hill University (NEHU) signed an MoU with Gujarat University (GU) today.
NEHU and GU have agreed to establish a strong relationship of academic collaboration by undertaking joint responsibilities and activities in their respective fields of excellence, research, innovation, resources, knowledge and training and capacity building.
The MoU will promote joint research and academic programmes, organisation of seminars, workshops, outreach programs, faculty exchanges, and joint supervision of research scholars. It will also facilitate the faculties of both the universities in applying for national and international funding for research projects.
Both varsities will also collaborate to exchange honorary/adjunct professorship or visiting fellow/professor for mutual support to access the facilities available for academic programme, research activities and outreach programme.
While exchanging the MoU, it was decided that Indian Institute of Sustainability (IIS) Meghalaya will be established in Shillong jointly, where the Indian Institute of Sustainability (IIS) Gujarat and NEHU will be the main shareholders.
Under joint courses programmes, areas of entrepreneurship, skill development, value chain and bamboo technology will be core focus. NEHU Vice-Chancellor Prof PS Shukla suggested an international cultural exchange programme where students of various countries can participate.
Prof Himanshu Pandya, Vice-Chancellor of GU, invited Shukla to establish a ‘Bamboo House’ in Gujarat University which would enable the research on bamboo technology. In response, Pandya was invited to establish a Gujarat Bhawan on the NEHU campus. GU also appointed Shukla as a distinguished professor at IIS Gujarat.
The collaboration is the first time that a premier North East university has signed an MoU with a premier Western India varsity. Gujarat University is the largest university in the state, catering to the needs of more than 2 lakh students scattered over 235 colleges, 15 recognised institutions and 24 approved institutions. There are 34 postgraduate university departments and 221 PG centres. The National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) ranked Gujarat University 62nd overall in India and 43rd among universities in 2021.
