Hamid Ansari calls for a better networked university system

KANNUR: Vice-President M. Hamid Ansari has said that sharing of facilities for research and exchange of skills and knowledge will, in the long run, contribute to a more networked, efficient and productive university system.

Inaugurating the Inter-University Centre for Biosciences (IUCB) on the Mangattuparamba campus of Kannur University here on Saturday, Dr. Ansari said sharing of such facilities would promote a better interaction and movement between academia and industry.

Congratulating the State government for its initiative in establishing inter-university centres (IUCs) in eight fields of academic study in various universities in the State, he said the autonomous centres would facilitate the nucleation and growth of active groups in specific fields of research. They fostered the development of centres of excellence within the university sector for teaching, research and development in specialised disciplines.

The Vice-President said the IUCB was expected to build on the progress made by the universitys Biotechnology and Microbiology Department in structural biology and structure-based drug discovery and designing. The proposed herbal garden under the IUCB, to be named after E.K. Janaki Ammal, world-renowned ethno-botanist from the district, would be a fitting tribute in her memory.