The visiting Saskatchewan Minister of Advanced Education, Employment and Labour, Rob Norris, emphasised the need for collaborative research in science at a function organised here on Friday by Omayal Achi College of Nursing. As a goodwill gesture he presented $ 5,000 on behalf of his government to the Omayal Achi College of Nursing, to be used for collaborative research.
The Omayal Achi College of Nursing made a presentation on its partnership with the College of Medicine and College of Nursing, University of Saskatchewan, Canada. The two institutions had entered into an MoU in 1994 and the function was an initiative to reaffirm their commitment.
“The reinforcement is a tribute to longevity and the partnership has benefited both the communities,” said Mr. Norris. Faculty and student exchange, infrastructure and research development were the aim of the exchange programme. “We have strong health concerns in Canada, and one of the benefits of this partnership is that by experiencing healthcare in Indian villages, it changed the mindset of our doctors to work on different areas,” said David Hannah, Associate Vice-President for Student Enrolment and Service, University of Saskatchewan. He also said it is the only nursing college in India with which the university has ties.
Valli Alagappan, Chairperson of the governing council, Omayal Achi College of Nursing, said the partnership was not one-sided as both have achieved. One of our future projects would be a collaborative research to assess the prevalence of hypertension among the residents of 15 villages adopted by the college.