Soon, Cochin University of Science and Technology (Cusat) will throw open its departments and key facilities before the public in an initiative aimed at engaging with the citizens in a meaningful way.
The idea is to familiarise the people on how the varsity works by inviting them on to the campus. “We plan to have an open house, where the public could come and visit the facilities here. The objective is to create awareness among the people on the functioning of the varsity besides familiarising them with our infrastructure and other facilities,” J. Letha, Vice Chancellor, told The Hindu .
The varsity is expected to come out with a detailed proposal to make the proposal a reality. “It will be placed before the Syndicate for approval,” said the Vice Chancellor. The open house for the public will be extended to Cusat’s unique facilities like the Centre for Science in Society (C-SiS) and it’s Stratosphere Troposphere (ST) Radar, which is expected to become fully operational by January.
The C-SiS’s outreach programme had already helped in inculcating science temperament among the school students across the State. Thousands of children had enrolled for its mid-summer science talent development programme. The public will now get a chance to visit the facility and understand its working as part of the open house project.
Faculty members and researchers will also get an opportunity to get a feedback on the varsity’s brand image from the public as part of the drive. The varsity authorities hope that it will help in improving its overall functioning besides getting in to a dialogue with the stakeholders in a professional manner.
