ANIL VERMA
Bathinda : The inaugural ceremony of the Department of Science and Technology (DST) funded seven days 'Synergistic Training Programme Utilising the Scientific and Technological Infrastructure (STUTI)’ Training Programme was held at the Central University of Punjab on Monday. The programme is jointly organized by Central University of Punjab, Bathinda and Amity University from November 28 to December 4, 2022, for the capacity building of participants through imparting advanced knowledge of state-of-the-art bio-analytical, spectroscopic, chromatographic and imaging techniques.
Prof. Arun Kumar Grover, the former Vice-Chancellor, Panjab University, Chandigarh, and Honorary Professor, PEC (deemed to be a university), graced the inaugural ceremony as the Chief Guest. In his inaugural address, the Chief Guest, Prof. A.K. Grover, delivered a talk on the "Scientific Legacy of North West India.". He highlighted that many cities and clusters of modern India claim to be science cities, but few would know that the undivided Punjab in British India has produced some of the brightest scientific minds such as Ruchi Ram Sahni (1862-1948); Shiv Ram Kashyap (1882-1934); Birbal Sahni, FRS (1891-1949); Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar, FRS (1894-1955); B.P. Rai, FRS (1906-1989); A.C. Joshi (1908-1971); M.S. Randhawa (1909-1986); A.S. Paintal, FRS (1923-2004); P.K. Sethi (1927-2008); and many others. He also shared the history of establishment of higher education institutions in Punjab, role of Sardar Dayal Singh Majithia in promoting Science and Technology and science initiatives at Panjab University, Lahore and Chandigarh. Prof. Grover urged the young scientists and faculty of CUP Bathinda to take the challenge to further this legacy with innovative thoughts and actions.
Prof. R.P. Tiwari, the Vice-Chancellor, while expressing his gratitude towards the Chief Guest, stated that his lecture enlightened the participants about the rich heritage and culture of this region for the promotion of science and technology and encouraged them to contribute towards the same. He stated that this workshop will provide experiential learning to participants through lectures and demonstration sessions by experts on sophisticated scientific equipment so that they can enrich the science legacy of India by developing innovative solutions to various problems in society.
At the outset, Prof. Anjana Munshi, Director, R&D Cell, stated in her welcome address that around 413 candidates from across the country had applied for this workshop, but only 30 shortlisted candidates had an opportunity to participate in this programme. Prof. Raj Kumar, Dean School of Health Science, introduced the Chief Guest. Dr. Vinod Kumar, HoD, Dept. of Chemistry, gave a formal vote of thanks towards the end of programme.