Padmavathi Mahila University (Tirupati) and Acharya Nagarjuna University (Guntur) intend to set up Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) desks to attract funds from corporates. Sri Venkateswara University (Tirupati) will start an R & D cell to streamline and track research projects, while Andhra University (Visakhapatnam) will launch an e-learning platform to record and deliver e-content.
This is the immediate outcome of some of the innovative ‘Summer Fellows’ internship programme by the Department of Higher Education, where 18 highly-qualified youngsters from reputed universities in India and around the world spent six weeks at the State universities for a reality check and to suggest steps to scale up in various spheres.
After interaction with State Knowledge Advisory Board Members, industry experts and local resource persons at the universities, they have come out with ‘implementable’ strategies and projects which can be grounded. Senior officials including Principal Secretary (Higher Education) Sumita Dawra reviewed their presentations at a day-long seminar here on Tuesday to come up with a follow up action plan for the universities.
Most suggestions will be at the university-level but an entrepreneurship board is to be at the State-level with mentors from industry to boost the entrepreneurship spirit among students. Each university will have its own exclusive cell.
Padmavati Mahila University, Acharya Nagarjuna University and SV University are clearly heading the list. “Summer Fellows is a game changer for universities. We have a clear picture now on how to plan our strategies. Some universities clearly showed a proactive approach and are already processing detailed project reports. It’s a demand-driven approach so the onus is on the university heads’ decision,” explained Ms. Dawra.
“We are planning to retain at least five of the interns for four months and attach them to universities to take the projects forward,” adds Akshay Jain, Consultant.
