Central University of Punjab celebrates its 16th Foundation Day with a grand ceremonial event

Bathinda, February 28, 2025: The Central University of Punjab (CU Punjab), Bathinda, celebrated its 16th Foundation Day with a grand ceremonial event under the patronage of Chancellor Prof. Jagbir Singh and the leadership of Vice-Chancellor Prof. Raghavendra P. Tiwari. The event recognized the contributions of scientists, faculty, staff, and students across various fields. The Chief Guest for the occasion was Prof. Rajeev Sood, Hon’ble Vice-Chancellor of Baba Farid University of Health Sciences (BFUHS), Faridkot.
 
In his Foundation Day Address, Prof. Rajeev Sood lauded CU Punjab’s achievements in education and research over the past sixteen years. He emphasized India's rich tradition of the Gurukul system and noted how Western education over the past two centuries had distanced society from its roots. He commended CU Punjab for successfully implementing NEP-2020 reforms, which emphasize interdisciplinary research, experiential learning, and skill development. Prof. Sood highlighted India's ancient knowledge systems, including Yoga, Ayurveda, and Homeopathy, which played a crucial role in combating COVID-19. He announced that BFUHS is committed to establishing Integrated Medicine as a discipline, combining modern evidence-based medicine with indigenous systems. Expressing enthusiasm for collaboration, he welcomed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between CU Punjab and BFUHS to foster excellence and find innovative solutions for health and agriculture challenges.
 
A key highlight of the event was the unveiling of the university’s new logo and a showreel video showcasing 16 glorious years of CU Punjab. The MoU signing between CU Punjab and BFUHS was another landmark moment of the day.
 
Vice-Chancellor Prof. Raghavendra P. Tiwari, in his address, expressed gratitude to the university’s founding Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Jai Rup Singh, and former Vice-Chancellor, Prof. R.K. Kohli, for laying a strong foundation. He proudly highlighted CU Punjab’s accomplishments, including its A+ accreditation from NAAC and its 83rd rank in the NIRF India Rankings (University Category). Prof. Tiwari reiterated the university’s commitment to holistic education and skill development, aligning with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of Viksit Bharat @2047. He urged faculty members to reinvent themselves in sync with the rapidly evolving learning landscape and to continuously enhance their intellect to enlighten young minds with knowledge and wisdom, fostering a culture of lifelong learning. Additionally, he made an earnest appeal to the non-teaching staff to provide excellent service, ensuring a conducive environment for learning with ease.
 
Hon’ble Chancellor Prof. Jagbir Singh, in his presidential address, congratulated the university on completing sixteen years. He reflected on Punjab and the Sapta Sindhu region’s historical contributions to knowledge creation and expressed confidence that CU Punjab will emerge as a beacon of knowledge on the global stage.
 
During this ceremony, special awards and appreciation certificates were presented to university students, research scholars, faculty, and staff members for their outstanding annual performance. Anjali (Dept. of EVST) received the Chancellor’s Award for the best PhD student, while Anugha MS (Dept. of Mathematics & Statistics) and Vaishnavi Vijyan (Dept. of Physics) were honored with the Vice-Chancellor’s Award for the best PG Student and PG Girl student respectively. Prof. Sisadeba Pany (Dept. of Education) was recognized with the best Teacher Award. Sandeep Kumar and Narayan Sunar received the best non-teaching employee award in the administrative category, while Er. Puneet Jassal and Deepak Sharma in technical category. Subhash Chandar got best non-teaching employee in supporting staff category. 

On this occasion, Dr. Naresh Singla (Dept. of Economic Studies) and Dr. Achche Lal Sharma (Dept. of Physics) received CU Punjab Outstanding Research Award in Social Science and Science Categories. Dr. Suryanarayan (Dept. of HGMM) got this award for bringing single research grant above 1 Crore. Twenty-nine faculty members received Research Awards for publishing in high-impact journals. Among them were: Dr. Achche Lal Sharma, Dr. Puneet Kumar, Dr. J.S. Bhatti, Dr. Balachandran Vellingiri, Dr. K.K. Haldar, Dr. Hari K. Reddy, Dr. Suresh Thareja, Dr. Sunil K. Singh, Dr. Ashok Kumar, Dr. Anjana Munshi, Dr. Raj Kumar, Dr. P.K. Sahoo, Dr. Vikram Deep Monga, Dr. Vikas Jaitak, Dr. Aklank Jian, Dr. Pardeep Kumar, Dr. Virender Singh, Dr. Vinay K. Bari, Dr. Uma Shankar, Dr. Vinod Kumar, Dr. Baljinder Singh, Dr. Randhir Singh, Dr. Shruti Kanga, Dr. Mukesh K. Yadav, Dr. Amit Singh, Dr. Sabyasachi Senapati, Dr. Ujjwal, Dr. Pritam Chand, and Dr. Vamdev Pathak. Dr. Naresh Singla and Dr. Sandeep Kaur from Dept. of Economic Studies got special award for publishing 7+ SCOPUS-indexed papers each. Ph.D. Scholars Sneha Kumari from Dept. of Pharmacology and Kailash from Dept. of PSNP and Debjani Chakraborty from Dept. of MCMS also obtained research award for outstanding research contributions.
 
The celebrations concluded with a vibrant cultural program, featuring spectacular performances in music, dance, and thematic presentations on socially relevant topics. Dr. Vijay Sharma, Registrar, delivered the formal vote of thanks. The event was attended by faculty, staff, and students, marking another milestone in CU Punjab’s illustrious journey.