The President of India, Pranab Mukherjee attended the 9th Convocation at National Institute of Technology, Durgapur West Bengal
and said NITs must pursue a culture of excellence and give greater priority to technology-enabled teaching like e-classrooms for wider diffusion of information and knowledge.
They must strengthen the linkage with industry so that there is regular flow of inputs from industry experts on course curricula and research. They must periodically evaluate their programmes based on industry trends. Every NIT should set upan Industry Cell in collaboration with local industry and industry associations which will develop collaborative research projects, internships, faculty exchanges and workshops.
The President said higher academic institutions in India lack orientation towards research, as a result of which, their standing amongst the top global institutions is not high. He said our institutions must be able to challenge the frontiers of knowledge and be able to make revolutionary contributions in different disciplines. They must find solutions that help the common man lead a better life. They must be able to guide policymakers on issues ranging from energy security to environment degradation, sanitation, urbanization, healthcare and education.
The President said our future progress will depend increasingly on our ability to innovate, to devise efficient processes for the industrial sector and better solutions for governance. He said it is necessary to permeate the spirit of innovation to all sectors – business, government, education and society.
The Indian innovation strategy must focus on generating ideas that promote inclusive growth and benefit those at the bottom of the socio-economic pyramid.