FINDING COMMON GROUND: (From left): Phillip Kalantzis-Cope, a representative of Common Ground, Australia; Madras University Vice-Chancellor S. Ramachandran; Higher Education Minister K. Ponmudi and John Fien, Innovation Professor of Sustainability, R oyal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Australia, at the conference in Chennai on Thursday. — Photo: K.V. Srinivasan

CHENNAI: The University of Madras will go in for digital encoding and encryption of examination answer sheets to prevent a repeat of last year's scam.

"We are talking to HCL Technologies to set the modalities. Also, from next semester, digital records of all mark sheets will be stored for future reference up to a period of 10 years," Vice-Chancellor S. Ramachandran told reporters on Thursday.

He was speaking after the inauguration of the third International Conference on Environment, Cultural, Economic and Social Sustainability. The four-day meet is being organised by the university, along with the non-profit organisation Common Ground, Australia, and the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology University, Australia.

Payrolls had already been brought under the university's e-governance initiative. It will soon include administration. The Senate House will be opened for public participation on March 31, Mr. Ramachandran said.

Earlier, inaugurating the conference, Higher Education Minister K. Ponmudi said sustainable development would have to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. The four-fold bottom line for sustainability involved environment, culture, economy and society.

The question of sustainability will be relevant in higher education, not just in terms of curriculum and learning but in myriad ways in all activities of higher education institutions, he added.

Universities should use their autonomy in the service of the debate on sustainability and the ethical and scientific issues facing society of the future, Mr. Ramachandran said. The economic sector needs to set up partnerships with universities to carry out research on problems related to development in different regions, especially sustainability, he added.

The conference aimed to find common ground between universities and partnering organisations on the issue of sustainability and for locating culture and heritage in the quest for sustainability, John Fien, Innovation Professor of Sustainability, RMIT University, said.

The focus would be on creating a forum for discussion of innovative theories in sustainable development. The conference would feature papers that addressed global and universal concerns and detailed case studies of localised applications of the principles and practices of sustainability, he added.

Phillip Kalantzis-Cope, a representative of Common Ground, and T. Vasantha Kumaran, professor and head of the Department of Geography, the University of Madras, spoke.

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