Saturday, Oct 11, 2008
University to have new facility for life sciences
Second institution to have one after JNU in New Delhi
- Focus will be on collaborative research
and training in frontier areas
- University Grants Commission sanctions
Rs. 10 crore
Madurai: Madurai Kamaraj University on Friday became the second
university in the country to have an exhaustive facility for
life sciences.
It will focus on collaborative research/ training in frontier
areas through a centre called ‘Networking Resource Centre
in Biological Sciences.’
The University Grants Commission has sanctioned Rs. 10 crore
to the university for implementing the project. The other university
chosen for a similar facility in life sciences is the Jawaharlal
Nehru University, New Delhi.
A. Gnanam, former Chairman of National Assessment and Accreditation
Council, formally commissioned the centre on Friday.
“The MKU will do mentoring activity and promote basic
sciences. It will bring research scholars, teachers and students
together from different institutions in the country,”
said S. P. Thyagarajan, former Vice-Chancellor, University of
Madras, who is a member of the MHRD-UGC Empowered Committee
on Basic Science Research.
According to Dr. Thyagarajan, the empowered committee had recommended
some national strategies for promotion of research in basic
sciences and establishing networking centres for different disciplines
was one among them.
Ten centres
Totally, 10 networking centres are being established in India
for physical sciences, chemical sciences, life sciences, material
sciences and mathematical sciences. Each discipline will have
two centres and for life sciences the selected universities
are MKU and JNU. Each centre will be provided Rs.10 crore by
the UGC.
P. Gunasekaran, Chairperson, School of Biological Sciences,
MKU, said the centre would host researchers in life sciences
from other institutions besides conducting summer and winter
schools.
“The networking centre in MKU will be like a think-tank
in the field of life sciences. It is appropriate that the Government
of India recognised Madurai Kamaraj University for this facility,”
Prof. Gnanam said in his inaugural address.
Madurai Kamaraj University Vice-Chancellor R. Karpaga Kumaravel,
in his presidential address, said the university would work
towards achieving the objectives of the networking centre and
“we are happy that our university is awarded a national
status and is entrusted with a major responsibility through
this centre.”
Dr. Karpaga Kumaravel recalled the significant contributions
made by S. Krishnaswamy who founded the Department of Biological
Sciences in 1966, who went on to become MKU Vice-Chancellor.
P. Ramasamy, Vice-Chancellor of Alagappa University; M. Lakshmanan,
former MKU Vice-Chancellor; and VR. Muthukaruppan, former Vice-Chancellor
of Bharathidasan University; spoke.
Courtesy: The Hindu