Srinagar, Nov 12: Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha on Friday called for setting a target of patent registration every year to promote innovation while he was on a vist to National Institute of Technology, Srinagar.
He inaugurated a guest house and sports facilities and interacted with the faculty members of the institute.
An official spokesperson said that Sinha highlighted the impact of technology on society and role of institutes like NIT in providing valuable human resources to the industry.
“Technological advancement, innovation is an essential driver of economic growth and social welfare. Technology-enabled innovation and consistent adoption of new technologies is needed to meet the future challenges of industrial growth, energy security and urbanization,” said the LG.
Sinha appreciated the NIT Srinagar for doing a commendable job in exploring new ideas to improve the lives of people.
“It is the collective responsibility of mentors and students to harness the power of ideas, enable a culture that supports innovation and bridge the gap between industry & academia,” he said.
Observing that the power of innovation can help the society to flourish, the Lt Governor urged the technical institutes to strive to re-invent the incubation and innovation centres to better meet the expectations of society.
“In-house innovative solutions play an important role in critical areas like security, technical & healthcare for ease of living. Our education campuses should encourage and nurture curiosity, motivate students for research and provide empowerment and space for experimentation,” he said.
Citing the multifold increase registered in acquiring patents by the IITs of the country, Sinha called for setting a target of patent registration every year to promote innovation. “We must build the institutional infrastructure to scale-up research, ideas for new services and invest in human capacity,” he said.
The Lt Governor asked the faculty and the administration of the NIT Srinagar to make every effort to include NIT in the top 20 institutions of the country and develop this prestigious institute as one of the best institutes in the country keeping in mind the civilisational values, he added.
The Lt Governor also congratulated the concerned faculties and Director NIT Srinagar for the ongoing cotton industry and space application projects with Russia and Uzbekistan.
Dr. Rakesh Sehgal, Director NIT, in his address said that improvement in rankings over the last three years has been made possible due to support provided by the government.
Later, the Lt Governor also released a brochure of 8th Edition of International Conference on ‘Nano Technology for Better Living’ which will be jointly organised by NIT Srinagar in collaboration with Indian Institute of Technology (BHU) Varanasi and many other prestigious institutions from 25 to 29 May 2023.