LPU Hosted Press Conference Ahead of AIU North Zone Vice Chancellors’ Meet 2025–26

Jalandhar, December 8, 2025: The Association of Indian Universities (AIU), established in 1925, is India's leading organization for higher education. It was led in the past by distinguished individuals like Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, Dr. Syama Prasad Mukherjee, Dr. Zakir Hussain, Dr. K L Shrimali, and A.L Mudaliar. The AIU is organizing its ‘North Zone Vice Chancellors’ Conference 2025-26 on December 9-10, 2025. The theme of the Conference is ‘Integrating Traditional Wisdom in Curriculum and Research’. It is being hosted by ‘Lovely Professional University, Phagwara, Punjab’.

Gulab Chand Kataria, Governor of Punjab will be the Chief Guest at the Inaugural Function of the Meet which will be held at 10.00 AM on December 09, 2025, at Lovely Professional University, Phagwara, Punjab.

The Meet will be Presided over by Prof. Vinay Kumar Pathak, President, AIU & VC, CSJM University, Kanpur. Dr. Pankaj Mittal, Secretary General, AIU will convene the Meet. Ashok Kumar Mittal, Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha) & Founder Chancellor LPU will also address the esteemed Vice Chancellors’ of North Zone. Prof. Dr. Jaspal Singh Sandhu, Vice Chancellor, Lovely Professional University, Phagwara, Punjab, will host the Meet and welcome the gathering. The Special Issue of the University News will be released by the Chief Guest in the Inaugural Session of the Meet.

Vice Chancellors of Indian Universities, Officers from Ministries in the Government of India, Officers from Apex Bodies like UGC, AICTE, NAAC, ICAR, etc., and many academia will be speakers and Session Chairs in the Meet. About 100 Vice Chancellors of the NorthZone, covering the states of Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, UttarPradesh, National Capital Territory of Delhi and Jammu and Kashmir are attending the meet physically, whereas approx. 100 Vice Chancellors will attend the Conference through virtual mode. Dr. Sorabh Lakhanpal, Executive Dean, Lovely Professional University, Phagwara, Punjab and Dr. Vijendra Kumar, Head, Meetings Division, Association of Indian Universities are the Nodal Officers of this Meet.

Present Meet

One of the key activities of the AIU is to convene the Vice Chancellors’ Meet at the Zonal and National levels to discuss various issues related to higher education. Five Zonal Vice Chancellors’ Meets and one National Conference of Vice Chancellors are organized in each academic session. These Meet/Conferences are important platforms not only to discuss the significant issues of higher education through collective wisdom and the problems facing different universities but also to play a catalytic role in carrying the voice of the leaders of higher education to appropriate authorities. Every year in the National Conference of Vice Chancellors’, a specific theme that is of topical significance for the higher education community is taken up for discussion. As a run-up, subthemes related to the main theme are discussed in the Zonal Vice Chancellors’ Meets.

The North Zone Vice Chancellors’ Meet 2025-26 is being organized on the theme ‘Integrating Traditional Wisdom in Curriculum and Research’ at Lovely Professional University, Phagwara, Punjab.

The discussions in the Conference will primarily focus on the various steps to integrate the traditional wisdom of our country in curriculum and other research activities and to address key issues involved in Embedding Indian Knowledge System (IKS) into Curricula & Faculty Development, Interdisciplinary Research Linking Ancient Wisdom with Modern Science & Technology and Futuristic Dimensions of IKS.

Vice Chancellors of Indian Universities, Experts from the Government of India, Apex Bodies of Higher Education, and Academia will be Speakers and Session Chairs. Experts from international organizations are also invited.

The two-day event will include the following 3 Technical Sessions to discuss the concerned topics:

Technical Session 1: Interdisciplinary Research Linking Ancient Wisdom with Modern Science & Technology

Technical Session 2: Embedding Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS) into Curricula & Faculty Development

Technical Session 3: Futuristic dimensions of IKS

In addition to these 3 technical sessions, one session named Interface with Officers from Apex Bodies and AIU Business Session will also be conducted.