By ARUN PRATAP SINGH
DEHRADUN, 1 Mar: The two-day National Summit of Institutional Leaders (2025) was inaugurated at the Nityanand Auditorium of Doon University, here by Dr Dhan Singh Rawat, Minister of Higher Education, Uttarakhand. The summit has been organized by Doon University in collaboration with the Department of Higher Education, Uttarakhand, UCOST, and Vidya Bharti.
The summit commenced with the lighting of the lamp by Dhan Singh Rawat, Surekha Dangwal, and other dignitaries on stage, followed by the Mangal Geet performed by the students of Doon University.
In his address, Dhan Singh emphasized the importance of such initiatives in assisting universities and higher educational institutions in developing a roadmap for the future. He also highlighted the role of academicians in reshaping the country’s academic landscape, mentioning that this summit is one such attempt. He commended Doon University, UCOST, and Vidya Bharti for their collaboration in bringing the event to fruition. Dhan Singh praised Vidya Bharti for its holistic approach to student development and emphasized that the program would offer an opportunity to explore innovations implemented by other HEIs in India and integrate them into Uttarakhand.
Kailash Chandra Sharma, Professor and National president of Vidya Bharti Uchha Shiksha Sansthan, stated that this is the 3rd summit of NSIL. He shared that Vidya Bharti Uchcha Shiksha Sansthan is rooted in the philosophy of Vidya Bharti, which emphasizes a Bharat-centric approach to academics. He highlighted Vidya Bharti’s crucial role in empowering underprivileged children through quality education for the past seven decades. With the introduction of NEP 2020, Vidya Bharti has expanded its focus to higher education, aiming to nurture generations that are confident, socially responsible, and equipped with essential skills. The primary objective of this summit is to promote experiential learning along with ethics and value-based education, and to align curricula with a deep respect for nature.
Archana Sharma, principal Scientist at CERN, Geneva, expressed that she was privileged in participating in such a visionary programme. She emphasized that Indians, with their deep cultural roots, are contributing significantly to technological advancements worldwide. However, she pointed out the lack of a Bharat-centric approach in these developments and stated that initiatives like NSIL will help foster a Bharat-centric perspective in academia.
Welcomed all dignitaries, faculty members, and media representatives, VC of Doon University Surekha Dangwal highlighted the evolving academic landscape and the need for collaboration, communication, clustering, and collective utilization of academic resources. She emphasized that the Indian academic system requires transformation, urging it to extend beyond traditional classroom teaching and learning.
Delivering the vote of thanks, Rakhi Panchola expressed her gratitude to all speakers of the inaugural session and extended her appreciation to everyone present in the Nityanand Auditorium, including academicians from across the country. She also thanked all the committees instrumental in organizing and managing the summit.
The inaugural session was followed by a common session where Chairman of UGC delivered a plenary lecture on “Transforming Higher Education in India: A Vision for Viksit Bharat.”
The day saw 12 parallel sessions organized in the Nityanand building, covering a wide range of topics and themes. A session on “Accreditation of Holistic Institutional Development” was conducted by eminent speakers Ganeshan Kannabiran, Director NAAC, and Pankaj Arora, Chairman NCTE. Another session on “Rethinking the Positioning of HEIs” was led by Sunaina Singh, former VC, Nalanda University, and ShasiKala Wanjari, VC, NIEPA. A session on “Bharat-Centric Research” featured four noted speakers: Archana Sharma, principal Scientist CERN, Sanjay Mishra, Senior Advisor/Scientist Home Ministry, GoI, Badri Narayan Tiwari, Director GBPSI, and Dhananjay Singh, Member Secretary ICSSR. The fourth parallel session, scheduled at 3:00 pm, deliberated on the theme “Fostering Innovation: Integrating Academics with Entrepreneurship and Start-up Culture” with speakers Abhay Jere, Vice-chairman AICTE, and T Raja Mannar, Executive Vice-president, Sun Pharmaceuticals.
Four more parallel sessions, held from 4:45 pm to 6:00 pm, covered various topics pertinent to the betterment of higher education, including “Developing Resilient and Future-Ready Campuses” where Durgesh Pant, DG UCOST, Meenu Singh, Director AIIMS, Rishikesh, and Pawan Kumar Sharma, Central University of Haryana, shared their valuable insights. The second theme, “Transforming Our Campuses as Sustainable and Vibrant,” featured discussions led by Surekha Dangwal, VC Doon University, Venkappayya R Desai, Director, IIT-Dharwad Karnataka, and Jayakar Shetty, VC, Bangalore University. The third parallel session on “Reimagining Curriculum: The LOCF Approach” included speakers KB Das, VC University of Jharkhand, Sushma Yadav, Pro-VC Central University of Haryana, and Aditya Trivedi, Rishihood University. The final session on “Industry-Academia Collaboration” was conducted by distinguished speakers Anubhav Saxena, president R&D, Pidilite Industries, Shishir Sinha, DG CIPET, and Munim Kumar Barai, Director RCAPS, Japan.
Four more parallel sessions on idea presentations were conducted between 6:30 pm and 7:30 pm on “Campus Community Synergy: Building Collaborative Futures,” “Igniting Innovation: Experimentation for Transformative Impact,” “Celebrating Diversity: Harnessing Inclusion for Holistic Growth,” and “NEP 2020 in Action: Strategies and Models for Success.”
The summit was attended by Jagmohan Singh Rana, Raj Kumari Chauhan Bhandari, Akhilesh Mishra, Shivraj Singh, Vice-Chancellors of various universities across India, Registrar Doon University Durgesh Dimri, RP Mamgain, HC Purohit, Swati Bisht, and distinguished academicians from all over the country.
