Association of Indian Universities (AIU) is organizing its ‘East Zone Vice Chancellors’ Conference 2024-25 on the theme “Equity, Diversity & Sustainability” and it is being hosted by JIS University, Kolkata from 18 to 19 March at Westin Hotel in Kolkata.
One of the significant activities of the AIU is to convene the Vice Chancellors Conferences at the Zonal and National levels to discuss various issues related to higher education. India is a country with a large geographical area, for ease of reaching out, AIU has grouped the member HEls into 5 zones i.e., North, South, East, West and Central. Thus, 5 Zonal Conferences and one National Conference of Vice Chancellors are organized annually. These Conferences are important platforms not only to discuss the significant issues of higher education but also to play a catalytic role in finding solutions for different problems of higher education through collective wisdom. AIU carries forward the voice of the participating leaders of higher education to appropriate agencies and authorities for their dispensation. 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 AIU Zonal Vice Chancellors Conferences.
The Inaugural Function will initiate with the arrival of the Chief Guest: His Excellency Dr. C.V. Ananda Bose, Hon’ble Governor of West Bengal & will be held at 10.00 AM on March 18, 2025.
The Conference will be presided over by Prof. Vinay Kumar Pathak, President, AIU & Vice Chancellor of CSJM University, Kanpur. Dr. (Mrs.) Pankaj Mittal, Secretary General of AIU, will serve as the convener. Sardar Taranjit Singh, Chancellor and Prof. Bhabes Bhattacharya, Vice Chancellor JIS University, Kolkata will host the event. Prof. V. N. Rajasekharan Pillai, Vice President, AIU & VC, Somaiya Vidyavihar University, Vidyavihar, Mumbai will also be present during the conference. During the Inaugural Session, the Chief Guest will release the Special Issue of the University News.
The Conference will be attended by approximately 100 Vice Chancellors from the East Zone, representing the states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, in person, whereas more than 100 Vice Chancellors will attend the conference through virtual mode. The conference will also be attended by officials from various Government of India ministries, and representatives from apex bodies such as AICTE, NAAC, NDSC, ICAR, among others, as speakers and session chairs, Dr. Atanu Kotal, Registrar of JIS University, Kolkata, and Shri Vijendra Kumar, Head, Meetings Division, Association of Indian Universities, are the Nodal Officers for the AIU East Zone Vice Chancellors Conference. The conference will also be attended by Shri Shivam Dixit, Head-IT of the AIU.
The conference will be focused on the deliberations on the innovative assessment and evaluation practices, through insightful keynote speeches and expert panel discussions including utilization of modern approaches such as project-based learning, experiential assessments, and the use of digital technologies to foster critical thinking, creativity, and real-world problem-solving skills among students. It will involve meaningful dialogues and deliberations from academic leaders, leading to tangible resolutions for government, Chancellors, and university functionaries. The recommendations will be discussed at the National Conference of Vice Chancellors, and a University Action Plan will be prepared based on these recommendations. and it will be sent to Governors of all the states, Ministries and apex bodies of higher education i.e., UGC, AICTE, NAAC, ICAR etc., for taking necessary actions.
The discussions in the Conference will primarily focus on the t sub-themes i.e., Incorporating IKS in curriculum and Pedagogy, Catering to Equity and Diversity on Campuses and Creating Green and Sustainable Campuses. In addition, there will be session on “Innovation, Skilling, Ranking and Assessment”.
The two-day event will include the following 3 Technical Sessions and a Session on “Innovation, Skilling, Ranking and Assessment” to discuss the concerned topics:
Technical Sessions:
Technical Session I will be chaired by Shri Raj Nehru, Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to Chief Minister, Government of Haryana & Former VC, Shri Vaishwakarma Skill University, Gurugram and speakers of the session are Prof. V. Ramanathan, Indian Institute of Technology, Varanasi (BHU), Prof. Rana Purushottam Kumar Singh, Professor, Buddhist Studies, Nava Nalanda Mahavihara (Deemed to be University), Nalanda and Dr. Ketu Ramachandrasekhar, Deputy Director, Academics, Siddhanta Knowledge Foundation.
Technical Session II will be chaired by Prof. Rajive Mohan Pant, VCSVC University, Silchar and speakers of the session are Prof Dibakar Chandra Dekai Mizoram University, Mizoram, Prof. (Dr.) YSR Murthy, VC, The Assam Royal University, Guwahati, Prof. Goutam Sutradhar, Director, National Institute of Technology, Jamshedpur and Prof. Saibal Chattopadhyay, Director, Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Calcutta.
Technical Session III will be chaired by Prof. Suranjan Das, VC, Adamas University, Kolkata and speckers of the session are Shri Upendra Tripathy, IAS (Retd.), Founding Director General Emeritus, International Solar Alliance & Former Secretary to the Government of India. Adjunct Professor, NIAS, Prof. Soma Bandyopadhyay, Baba Saheb Ambedkar Education University, Kolkata and Prof. Amit Patra, Director, IIT Kharagpur.
AIU Business Session will be chaired by Prof. Vinay Kumar Pathak, President, AIU & VC, CSJMU, Kanpur and Co-Chaired by Dr. (Mrs.) Pankaj Mittal, Secretary General, AIU.