Noting the rise of India's rank in the Global Innovation Index, Vice President Venkaiah Naidu on Tuesday said that innovation should become the national mantra for development.
Notably, India has risen from the rank of 81 in 2015 to 46 in 2021 in the Global Innovation Index.
Speaking on the occasion of the inauguration of the Jodhpur City Knowledge and Innovation Cluster (JCKIC) at the Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) Jodhpur, Naidu talked about the power of collaboration.
He highlighted that collaboration between various institutions can bring out synergies and deliver great developmental benefits to people.
Observing that water is a scarce commodity in Rajasthan, he called for more collaborative efforts in water management and rainwater harvesting to mitigate the water crisis in the region.
Complimenting the JCKIC cluster for its efforts in the direction, Naidu suggested that educational institutes should become the hubs of such innovation clusters.
He called upon premier Institutions like IITs to share expertise and best practices with other educational institutes. "Innovation and collaboration should be embedded into the very DNA of higher education institutions," Naidu stressed.
Terming the National Education Policy 2020 a visionary document, the Vice President said that it recognises the importance of multi-disciplinarity in education, encourages collaboration, and seeks to foster innovation in students.
He added that in the spirit of NEP 2020, universities must also offer flexibility in their curriculum.
Naidu also suggested that students must be incentivized to pursue final year projects and internships in diverse fields and allowed to collaborate with students of other disciplines.
He opined that such a move will improve students' capacity for critical thinking and help in opening new vistas of knowledge.
The Vice President appreciated the efforts of IIT Jodhpur and other institutions in the knowledge and innovation cluster which is trying to bring developmental benefits to the people of the region.
He called for more such innovation clusters and collaborative initiatives between various universities, government institutions and private organisations which, he said, can build on each other's expertise and share knowledge.
( With inputs from ANI )
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