UT Advisor meets CRIKC Heads

Chandigarh, November 6, 2014: UT Advisor KK Sharma has appreciated the Chandigarh Region Innovation and Knowledge Clusters (CRIKC) activities and assured his support to initiatives of CRIKC institutions.

Sharma was interacting with the Heads of the CRIKC institutions at a meeting in Institute of Microbial Technology (IMTECH) Chandigarh today. It may be recalled that various leading educational and research institutions of Chandigarh region had joined hands to form CRIKC as a Cluster to promote and sustain excellence in research. 

 Various Heads and representatives of CRIKC institutions namely Panjab University (PU), Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education & Research (PGIMER), IMTECH, Indian Institute of Science Education & Research (IISER) Mohali, National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education & Research (NIPER), Terminal Ballistic Research

Laboratory(TBRL), PEC – Punjab Engineering College of Engineering and Technology, IIT ROPAR participated in the meeting and discussed the ways to strengthen mutual cooperation and support to benefit the students and research scholars.

On behalf of CRIKC institutions, PU Vice Chancellor Prof Arun K Grover highlighted the activities of CRIKC institutions and apprised the UT Advisor about appreciation of the concept of CRIKC by Central Government and its various agencies including Human Resource Development Ministry, Planning Commission and UGC. Prof Grover said that the Chandigarh is evolving as a quality hub of Education & Research with the setting up of various

centrally funded institutions like IISER, ISB, NABI, BPU, INST, SASE in Chandigarh region.

 To attract young and talented scientists and teachers to Chandigarh, it has become imperative that they should be provided a transit accommodation in the vicinity of Chandigarh as housing has become costly and scarce, he added. 500 Two room sets may be constructed by the UT Administration to meet the objective of providing transit

facility for first five years of their joining in CRIKC institutions, he added. 

Grover also stressed for setting up hostels for 5,000 bright students in CRIKC institutions as the students were being forced to stay outside or share rooms with others due to scarcity of sufficient number of hostel accommodations.

He further informed that Government of India has established two Centres of

National Importance namely Policy Research Centre and University Innovation Cluster at PU for the promotion of Industry-Academia interactions. These programs are headed by Rupinder Tewari, the CRIKC Coordinator & Dean, Faculty of Science, PU. Policy Research Centre is sponsored by Department of Science & Technology & University

Innovation Cluster is sponsored by Dept of Bio-Technology.

In the meeting, CRIKC institutions requested the UT Advisor to help in developing 500 two room transit accommodations for the newly recruited faculty in the leading academic and research institutions situated in the Chandigarh region as was done by UT Administration for PGI in Sector 24. The facility will help all the institutions and

their students in a big way as that would help in attracting the best of talent to the City & the region, CRIKC heads argued. 

Earlier IMTECH Director Dr Girish Sahni welcomed Advisor and briefed him about the history and contribution of IMTECH. 

On the occasion, Dr Sahni was also felicitated on being conferred with a highly prestigious OP Bhasin Award.

(SK Vyas/Jalandhar)

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