Inter-connectivity the key to deal with university challenges: Banerjee

CHANDIGARH: The third Panjab University foundation day public lecture saw scientist and department of atomic energy Homi Bhabha chair professor at Bhabha Atomic Research Centre Srikumar Banerjee visiting the campus.
With the lecture, the university marked its 132nd year of existence. Established in Lahore in 1882, the university relocated to Chandigarh in 1956. PU old-timers like former vice chancellor R P Bambah and senator G K Chatrath, among other senior faculty and senate members and PU alumni, attended the event.Former chief of the army staff General V P Malik (retired) chaired the lecture.
With the university in the foreground of the event, Banerjee spoke on 'Innovations in University Environments' at the PU auditorium on Wednesday. He said that the current university system faced newer challenges. "These include an unprecedented rise in the number of students, interconnected network of knowledge, integration of world economy, socio-cultural and economic plurality of students and emergence of new problems like energy, environment and sustainable growth," he said.
Banerjee, who is also the chancellor of Central University of Kashmir, stressed upon innovation in teaching and research programmes in Indian universities to counter the challenges. "Innovation in research programme should include inter-disciplinary research, collaborations and research network across institutes, sharing of facilities, creation of inter-university consortiums, connecting academic knowledge with practical knowledge and connecting universities with their neighbouring communities," he said.
Banerjee said that innovation in teaching programmes should include novel curricula and evaluation, pedagogic innovation, new kind of teaching-learning methods and industrialization of teaching programmes. He added that internationalization of teaching and connectivity were becoming important.
Banerjee said science had given solutions to many problems. "Things have changed today due to communication and infrastructure. The problem of food shortage has been resolved. Science intervention in agriculture is an excellent example of inclusive growth," he added.
PU had initiated the Foundation Day Annual Public Lecture series in 2012 with historian and PU alumna Romila Thapar delivering the first one. The second one was delivered by Gyanpith Award winner and writer Gurdial Singh in 2013.
'JC Bose pioneered wireless radio, not Marconi'
Challenging existing theories backed by new findings, Srikumar Banerjee on Wednesday said that the US-based Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) had proved that the pioneer of wireless-radio communication was Jagdish Chandra Bose and not G Marconi. Describing JC Bose as a scientist-engineer, Banerjee made a reference to the National Radio Astronomy Observatory, NSF, USA. "Professor Bose demonstrated remote signaling by wireless some two years before Marconi's famous Salisbury plain demonstration. Prof Bose discovered the phenomena in India and gave lectures and demonstrations in Europe. It is said that Marconi was one of the audience and we lost an invention," he said.
Innovation a state of mind: Gen Malik
Congratulating Panjab University (PU) for initiating the Foundation Day celebration as a bridge between public and university, former chief of army staff General V P Malik (retired) also commended alumni of the university who were leading different walks of life and work the world-over.
In his presidential remarks, Malik said that innovation was not just a matter of undertaking activities or developing technology, but was a state of mind. "Barrier-free information and knowledge flow from university to community, melding of knowledge with practice were the high points of innovation," he added.