The two-day South Zone Vice Chancellors’ Meet will begin here from Tuesday (January 31). Andhra University (AU) will host the programme which is being organised by the Association of Indian Universities (AIU).
Andhra Pradesh Governor Biswa Bhushan Harichandan will inaugurate the meeting at the AU Convention Centre on Beach Road at 11.40 a.m. Andhra Pradesh State Council for Higher Education (APSCHE) Chairman K. Hemachandra Reddy will attend the valedictory function as chief guest.
Sixty Vice-Chancellors of various State Universities from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Lakshadweep, Puducherry and Tamil Nadu in the South India will physically be present in the meeting while around 100 Vice-Chancellors will virtually be present. Officials of Union Ministries will also join them in the programme.
Speaking to reporters here on Monday, AIU president Suranjan Das said that the conference is being organised under the theme ‘Research and Excellence for Transformative Higher Education’ under the sub-theme ‘Transformative Higher Education for Atmanirbhar India’ for all five similar zonal-level meetings in the country.
AIU secretary Pankaj Mittal said that the two-day event will have three technical sessions to discuss the theme. The first session will be on Research Funding, the second on Promoting Quality and Relevant Research and the third on Linking Teaching and Research. She said that the output of technical sessions and brainstorming ideas will be generated in the two-day meeting, and will be discussed again at the national-level meeting. The final draft will be handed over to the Union Ministry of Higher Education for further action.
AU Vice-Chancellor P.V.G.D. Prasad Reddy said AIU is one of the premier institutions of higher learning in the country, established in 1925. “It is a research-based policy advisory body to the Government of India in the field of Higher Education, Sports and Culture. It has been playing a vital role in shaping Indian higher education since its inception. It was led by luminaries like Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, Syama Prasad Mukherjee and Zakir Hussain among others,” he added.
“Hosting the South Zone event is a great opportunity for AU. The ideas generated here will be future forms of education system. This programme will be held on the premises of AU and IIM-Visakhapatnam,” Mr. Prasad Reddy added.
