Awantipora, Sep 06:(KNS) Islamic University of Science & Technology (IUST) and University of Kashmir collaborated to host a webinar today with Directorate of Extramural Research & IPR support (ER & IPR) Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to create an awareness among faculty in the two Institutions about various extramural funding schemes offered by the DRDO.
DRDO, is a Premier Research and Development Organization under Ministry of Defense caters to development of defense technologies as per the existing and futuristic requirements of the country. It also supports academic institutions in their research pursuits.
The webinar, coordinated by the IUST, was attended by Vice Chancellor KU, Prof. Talat Ahmad and Vice Chancellor, IUST Prof. Shakil Ahmad Romshoo. During his address, Prof. Talat Ahmad spoke about the need for partnering with national research institutes like DRDO for addressing issues of societal importance and human resource development in frontier areas of science and technology.
Prof. Romshoo highlighted the importance of building the technical ingenuity of the faculty in the two universities so that they are able to network with other national and international institutes to avail the funding opportunities in research and development available at the national and international level. Both the Vice Chancellors emphasized the need of collaboration amongst University of Kashmir, IUST and other Universities within the UT of J&K for promoting high quality Research on issues of scientific and societal importance.
During the webinar, Dr. Shiv Kumar, Scientist ‘G’ & Director ER & IPR, DRDO made a detailed presentation about the Research opportunities supported by the DRDO for academic institutes in the country.
He presented details of the schemes for establishing network with Research Community in various Research Centers and Institutions so as to establish Center of Excellence within Academic Institutions.
During his presentation, he showcased various products and patents nurtured by Institutions and developed by industry to meet DRDO’s immediate and futuristic needs for defense product development and technologies.
He shortlisted the probable areas of Research Collaboration in Electronics, aeronautics, armaments, life sciences, new materials etc. while focusing on quantum computing, information security, sensor technologies & PV systems.
Dr. Kumar also highlighted the opportunities for Undergraduate, Postgraduate and Research Scholars to pursue their internship programs and research in the DRDO lab spread across the country.
Towards the end, Dr. Shiv Kumar responded to a no. of queries raised by the faculty members of IUST & University of Kashmir related to various issues like signing of MoU, submission of Research Proposals, funding support, DRDO lab, IPR etc. The webinar was attended by large no. of faculty from IUST and University of Kashmir including Deans of various schools, Heads of the Departments, and faculty members from both the Universities.(KNS)