BERHAMPUR: The National Institute of Science and Technology (NIST) celebrated its 29th foundation day on its campus on the outskirts of Berhampur on Tuesday.
The two-day event, also organised to mark the second foundation day of the NIST University (NISTU), was inaugurated in the presence of former deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India Michael Patra and Lieutenant General Commandant of the Army Air Defence College (AADC), Gopalpur RC Srikant.
Addressing the gathering, Patra spoke on India’s fast-growing economy and emphasised the importance of harnessing youth power to drive national growth. He noted that India has a demographic window of nearly 25 years during which it will enjoy the largest youth dividend, presenting a crucial opportunity for development.
He also underlined the need for greater participation of women to further accelerate economic progress.
President and founder of NISTU Sukant Mohapatra said the university has set benchmarks not only through strong academic programmes and quality education, but also through its multidisciplinary research centres of excellence in renewable energy, drone technology, computer vision, multimedia and robotics.
On the occasion, Srikant announced that an MoU would be signed between AADC and NISTU to explore joint efforts in AI and security technologies.
Vice-chancellor of NISTU Prof Priyadarsan Patra and eminent businessman Sahaj Sandhu also spoke.