NEW DELHI: President Droupadi Murmu on Saturday stressed the need to make educational institutions future-ready, asserting that if the country takes steps to protect itself from vagaries of the future, it can reap rich demographic dividends. She inaugurated state-of-the-art Research and Innovation Park and an exhibition of technologies at the closing ceremony of the diamond jubilee celebrations of the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi.
“India has a great talent pool which is yet to be fully tapped. We need to make our institutes adaptable to the future. This will require a new teaching-learning matrix, pedagogy and content which are future-oriented. I am confident that with our famed IITs, we will be able to nurture the youngsters with the necessary knowledge base to face the challenge,” she said.
Murmu said that IIT has been a “pride of the nation”. She appreciated IIT Delhi’s contribution to fighting against Covid-19. She said, “Rising to the challenge of containing the virus, the IIT Delhi initiated important research and development projects. It developed rapid antigen test kits, PPEs, antimicrobial fabrics, high-efficiency face masks and low-cost ventilators.”
Murmu also underlined that the nation has expectations from the IITs for their input in achieving sustainable development goals. “If we look ahead in future, climate change poses a serious challenge. As a developing country with a high population base, our energy requirement for economic growth is very high. Hence, we need to shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy. In the coming years, as the world looks for technological solutions to environmental challenges, I trust our young engineers will help humankind achieve a breakthrough,” she said.
Union Ministers of Education Dharmendra Pradhan also attended the event. He said that the event will add momentum to amplifying the societal impact of R&D at IIT Delhi. He added that it is a matter of great pride that many developed countries are evincing interest in establishing and hosting offshore IIT campuses in their countries.