CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu Governor RN Ravi on Friday called upon state universities to give up on their ‘silo mindset’ and stated that there should be an exchange of views and practices. He made the remark while chairing the third conclave for excellence in higher education and felicitating the NIRF-2024 top-ranking institutions in Tamil Nadu.
“Our universities are largely functioning in isolation. This is not the desired outcome. Private universities could be interacting with other universities, but certainly not with the state universities. We all know that scholarship flourishes with the exchange and cross-fertilisation of ideas, practices. So, they (universities) should break their silo mindset,” the governor said.
Ravi congratulated higher education institutions on improving their NIRF rankings. He expressed happiness that the conclave is successfully meeting its objective of promoting a quality-based higher education ecosystem through mutual learning, knowledge sharing, and encouraging healthy competition among institutions.
He also urged institutions to inspire and support PhD aspirants to clear the NET JRF examination, noting that this will not only provide them with opportunities for high-quality research and prestigious scholarships, but also facilitate crucial intellectual property generation, which is essential for turning our nation into a leading global knowledge hub.
In the conclave, top institutions shared their experience in terms of initiatives and methodologies. Professor Dr V Kamakoti, director of IIT Madras, vice-chancellors of various state and private universities, registrars, heads and representatives from educational institutions across the state, faculty members, educationalists, academicians and officials took part in the event.