BHUBANESWAR: The second edition of Odisha Research Conclave was inaugurated by the Higher Education Minister Rohit Pujari at Ravenshaw University in Cuttack on Monday. Organised by the Odisha State Higher Education Council, it has brought together researchers from across all state universities, scholars under Odisha University Research and Innovation Incentivisation Plan (OURIIP), those receiving grants from UGC besides, researchers of World Bank-funded centres of excellence (CoEs) in 11 universities, under one platform.
Pujari said the government of Odisha under the leadership of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik is trying to create a vibrant research ecosystem in the public universities and colleges of the state. “As a part of this, the research conclave has come up as a platform for knowledge dissemination through discussion among vice-chancellors, policy-makers and researchers and showcase the ongoing research work,” he said.
Vice-chairman of the council Ashok Das said under the Odisha Higher Education Program for Excellence and Equity, 11 centres of excellence (CoEs) were established in public universities in various areas where Odisha has an interest. These CoEs in which the government invested around `30 crore, have been able to create a certain amount of research infrastructure, he said.
Das informed that despite the two years of pandemic, Odisha has produced around 200 scopus indexed journal publications and applied for over 10 patents. Four of the patents were from Ravenshaw University alone. While vice-chancellors from all the universities in the state are taking part, as many as 440 research abstracts have been selected for poster presentation at the conclave. Higher Education department principal secretary Bishnupada Sethy and vice-chancellor of Ravenshaw University Sanjay Naik also spoke.