NT24 News : Vice-Chancellor’s visits various Departments/Institutes of University..........

Vice-Chancellor’s visits various Departments/Institutes  of University

National Tele24 News

Vinay kumar

Chandigarh

Prof. Raj Kumar, Vice-Chancellor, Panjab University(PU) visited the University Institute of Fashion Technology (UIFT), Department of Microbiology, Department of Art History & Visual Arts and the Museum of Fine Arts and Dr.S.S. Bhatnagar University Institute of Chemical Engineering & Technology (UICET) in the last two days. The Vice Chancellor was accompanied by Prof. Shankarji Jha, Dean of University Instructions, Prof. Ramanjit Johal, Prof. Rajat Sandhir and Prof. Sanjeev Puri. The departments made presentations about the courses offered, thrust areas, research outcomes, placements, etc. The Vice Chancellor emphasized on the need to start innovative teaching programs, industry collaborations and alumni involvement in the teaching and research programs of each department. Dr. Prabhdip Brar, Chairperson, UIFT shared that a project amounting to Rs. 30 Crores is proposed for “Museum of Textile, Craft, Design, Research and Resource- An Incubation Hub”. Prof. S.K. Soni, Chairperson, Department of Microbiology, PU shared the various research areas of societal needs being pursued with relevance to health, industry and environment, technologies developed and transferred to industry. The Vice Chancellor stressed that Microbiology has a lot of potential of applied research and thus can contribute significantly to the nation building by solving various National problems. He asked them plan innovative projects on the areas of the current National Interest especially in the areas of Waste Management, production of biofuels, use of tertiary treated water and development of alternative therapies to combat multi-drug antibiotic resistance so that the same can be submitted to the concerned ministries for major funding. He also motivated the faculty to file more patents and initiate the start-ups in their respective areas. Prof. Soni shared that the department intends to start an innovative Master degree on Food Safety and Quality assurance in the coming session. The Vice Chancellor suggested to the faculty of the department of Art History & Visual Arts and the Museum of Fine Arts to start self financing short term courses and to have tie ups with corporate. The Vice Chancellor visited the museum building and appreciated the art collection and motivated the faculty and staff to organize events involving the public at large to highlight the art collection in the museum. Prof. Sanchita Chauhan, Chairperson, UICET, presented the thrust Research areas of the Institute and the performance in the last ten years. She shared that the faculty members are actively involved in multifarious fields like Materials & Nanotechnology, Environmental Engineering, Bio waste to energy, Advanced Functional Materials, Foods and Biochemicals. The team was apprised that the Institute has been bestowed with grants worth 18.68 crores under TEQIP (NPIU-MHRD) and SAP (UGC) and the individual projects of faculty members are worth about 7.69 crores, totaling to 26.55 crores in last ten years. The Vice Chancellor motivated the faculty members to imbibe corporate culture and make available laboratory and other facilities for 24x7 such that maximum utilization of the resources can be achieved. The Vice Chancellor insisted on developing world-class infrastructure, which should cater to Science & Society. He also emphasized that Swachhta should be our primary duty and should be imbibed in daily routine.