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CUSAT doctorates for Madhavan Nair, Narayanamurthy

Staff Reporter

ISRO chief underlines efforts to build partnership with academia

RECEIVING A HONOUR: N.R. Narayanamurthy, Chief Mentor, Infosys Technologies, and G. Madhavan Nair, Chairman, Indian Space Research Organisation, at the CUSAT convocation in Kochi on Sunday. — Photo: H. Vibhu

KOCHI: The Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT) conferred honorary doctoral degrees (D.Sc.) on Chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) G. Madhavan Nair and Chief Mentor of Infosys Technologies N.R. Narayanamurthy at a brief ceremony at the School of Management Studies Hall of the university here on Sunday. In his acceptance speech, Dr. Nair said the new initiatives by ISRO, such as Chandrayan I, offered "exciting opportunities" for young researchers. He underlined ISRO's efforts to build a strong partnership with the academia. "ISRO has derived strength from industries and educational institutions. I look forward to building a strong partnership between the academia and ISRO towards providing scientific and technology solutions to the country's development problems," he said.

Education had to play a major role to turn human resources into national wealth, he said, as he pointed to projections that by 2015, India would have the largest number of young people in the world.

Dr. Narayanamurthy said that institutes of higher education must stay relevant in a changing world, but Government regulation in higher education system had limited the ability of colleges and universities to adapt and change. Because of this, the country had failed to build world-class institutions, he added. World-class institutions were not built through government mandate and control, but through academic freedom, innovation and pursuit of excellence. "We must provide our institutions with the freedom to take risks and foster bold, new initiatives for growth. Higher education in India must be allowed to function as an industry in a free-market environment."

Both Dr. Nair and Dr. Narayanamurthy praised CUSAT's record in encouraging research across various disciplines and in promoting collaborative researches.

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