Vice Chancellor CUK chairs DIC Steering Committee meet

Vice-Chancellor (VC), Central University Kashmir (CUK), Prof Mehraj ud Din on Saturday chaired the varsity’s Steering Committee meeting of the Design and Innovation Centre (DIC) here.

Speaking on the occasion, the VC said the University was among the few varsities across the country, which bagged the prestigious project in December 2018. He said Union Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) and the government were satisfied with the progress on the project.

   

Prof Mehraj ud Din said in consultation with the functionaries in department of Higher Education, 10 colleges were identified for launching the project.

He said the project has been further been extended for one more year and the authorities in Higher Education have expressed their earnest desire to add up more colleges to the list.

The VC said the candidates in these centres have produced quality merchandise, which could not be exhibited due to the COVID19 pandemic.

Project Director, and Registrar, Prof Fayaz A Nika, while deliberating upon the operative aspects of the project said, the DIC was a prestigious project intended to develop innovation and entrepreneurial culture.

He said the DIC was offering programmes in four areas including diplomas in Kashmiri food production and processing, design and dress making, Kashmir and Ladakh craft and herbal medicine and aromatic technology.

He said the DIC till date has trained 143 individuals in these crafts. Prof Nika said the scheme has been drafted carefully and was being implemented in letter and spirit.

He said the DIC has sanctioned 11 research projects, the prototypes of which have been received for further examination. He revealed that the project has well defined parameters and properly laid down plan of execution. He also informed that there have been hiccups in 2019 and 2020. However, the project has navigated through turbulent waters, he said.

Director Colleges, Prof Yaseen Ahmad Shah and former director Colleges Prof Zahoor Ahmad Chatt were special invitees to the programme.

Prof Shah said the CUK shall play a lead role and help the Colleges in providing skill education. For the purpose, he identified 15 Colleges, where the CUK may help in skill development initiatives among youth for development of entrepreneurial culture.

Prof Chatt said the CUK should rope in experts from respective fields in order to provide quality skills training to the individuals. He underscored the need of promoting skill development at different levels of education.

Prof Yasmeen Ashai also spelled out various measures to promote the skill development in Kashmir.

Controller Examinations, Prof Parveen Pandit emphasized the need for promoting skill development in Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh.

She said the DIC project could prove helpful in generating employment and the job seekers can become job providers.

Addressing the meeting in online mode, Coordinator, Prof NA Nadeem, underscored the need of implementing plan of action formulated during the previous meeting.

He said the DIC could add up more Colleges in addition to the existing ones. Prof Nighat Basu, who is the Coordinator of Spoke centre at Government Women’s Polytechnic College Bemina, said the main objective of DIC was to promote the innovations.

Dean School of Life Sciences, Prof M Afzal Zargar, emphasized the need to focus on skill training in herbal medicine and aromatic technology.

Dean School of Education, Prof Syed Zahoor Geelani, Dr Firdous Ahmad Sofal, Dr Asif Khan and Ashiq Najar, also spoke on the occasion and highlighted the working of their respective spoke centres.

Irfan Ahmad Dar, Coordinator of Spoke centre, also gave a brief presentation on the occasion.

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