Industry-Academia Interaction Programme held at Central University of Punjab

Bathinda, November 25, 2021: To bridge the gap between industry and academia, and to actualize the vision of AtmaNirbhar Bharat as envisioned by our Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, the Central University of Punjab, Bathinda (CUPB), organized an Industry-Academia interaction programme during which leading industrialists of Bathinda participated. In this interaction session, CUPB scientists and industrialists from Bathinda discussed the opportunities to collaborate to find innovative solutions to various problems faced by industry and work together to develop skilled manpower who will contribute towards nation-building.
At the start, Prof. Anjana Munshi, Dean Research, welcomed the industrial representatives. She shared that the Central University of Punjab has emerged as the leading higher educational institution in the region and, within a short span, the university has made a mark among the top 100 universities list in the NIRF Rankings. She spoke about the quality of research conducted by faculty and scholars, and shed light on world-class research facilities available at the university in the form of the Central Instrumentation Laboratory, Departmental Laboratories, etc. After this, Dr. Vinod Pathania, programme coordinator, introduced the Deans/HoDs of the Science Departments running at the university and shared their expertise. He invited industrialists to share their problems and expectations.
During the programme, the industry representatives from different fields, such as pharma products, transformer manufacturing, edible oil manufacturing, casting and fabrication units, etc., shared their issues and challenges. The industrial delegates expressed happiness with the research-centric approach of the university and conveyed their willingness to collaborate with the university in the areas of product testing, refinement of manufacturing processes, and project-based research. They emphasized the importance of providing students with hands-on training and informing them about available job opportunities in their field.
In his presidential address, Prof. Raghavendra P. Tiwari, the Vice Chancellor, expressed his gratitude towards industrial delegates and put forward his mission to actualize thedream of AtmaNirbhar Bathinda. He said that this programme is initial attempt in the way forward to understand the needs of local industry and work together to find innovative solutions to accomplish this mission. He emphasized that the university is committed to implementing NEP2020 transformative educational reforms and working to develop an ecosystem to promote experiential learning and strengthening industrial-academic collaborations. He encouraged industrial representatives and university scientists to work together to strengthen industry-academia partnerships to boost the opportunities of consultancy, project-based research, skill development, and entrepreneurship.
While interacting with industry representatives, Prof. Tiwari, the Vice Chancellor, shared that the university is putting its best efforts into setting up a world-class research park at the university campus, which will facilitate local industrial units. He expressed hope that their support would help to accomplish this task in a limited time.
Towards the end, Shri KPS Mundra, the Registrar, gave formal vote of thanks. The industry representatives who participated in this programme were Mr. Mukesh Jindal (President, Bathinda Small Industries Association) from PP Industries, Mr. Virendra Garg (President, Bathinda Industrial Owners Association) from Kosva Industries, Mr. Vikram Garg from Vikas Industries, Mr. Krishan Bansal from KK Impex, Mr. SK Garg from Unitech Pharma, Mr. Manjeet from Monats Biotech, Mr. Satish Bansal from PP Industries, and Mr. Rahul Bansal from MS Glister Inc.