Summit fever builds up with 76 MoUs in education

“Research is the essence for future development. I assure you that Gujarat has a society that will offer an ambience of risk-taking and entrepreneurship so that the fruits of research is taken to the common man,” Modi said.

The MoUs consisted of six main combinations: those signed between a company and a state university (36 MoUs were signed in this category); an international university and a state university (24 MoUs); an international university and the state government (nine MoUs); a state university and a state institute (four MoUs),between a research institute and a state university (two MoUs),and another category in which ATIRS signed an MoU with a company named Elmarco.

The MoUs broadly deal with establishing “centres of excellence” and R&D centres,economic research,student and faculty exchange,research activities,technology commercialisation,teachers’ training,research in sustainability in energy and environment,placements,visiting faculty,PG education,establishing a Chair Professor,curriculum development and joint utilisation of infrastructure.

Among foreign universities that signed MoUs were the universities of California,Pennstate,Western Ontario,University of California Los Angeles (UCLA),Oklahoma,Kansas,Manuela Bertran,Thames Valley,Maryland,Papperdine,and Saskatchewan (Canada).

Among the state universities,PDPU and Gujarat Technological University signed 14 MoUs each,Ganpat University signed five MoUs,and CEPT University signed three MoUs,including one with UCLA. Shell Hazira also signed an MoU with PDPU by which the company will provide 1.1 million dollar per year for 10 years to establish a Chair Professor .

The Jamnagar-based Gujarat Ayurved University signed an MoU with Gulf Medical University to establish a college in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

A K Singh,convener of the Knowledge Consortium of Gujarat,signed MoUs with nine foreign universities on behalf of the state government. These pertained to student and faculty exchange and research,as well as teachers’ training.

Adhia said: “The signing of MoUs should not be the end,but we should make sure that these MoUs are followed through and implemented.”

CM pitches for more room for states to grow
Chief Minister Narendra Modi has suggested that states should be allowed space in the federal structure without impacting the basic framework of the Constitution to enable them to make progress by doing away with provisions of archaic labour laws.

Chairing the last of the four sessions at a meeting of Young Entrepreneurs here on Monday,he said the entire federal structure could not afford uniformity at the cost of states that wanted to move forward leaving behind disabling provisions. “If West Bengal wants to continue with current labour laws,let it do so but if Gujarat wants to do away with those provisions,it should be allowed to do so for its progress,” Modi said.

The chief minister asked young entrepreneurs to merge their dreams with his to fill the leadership vacuum and win the race by using existing resources only. He said there was a time when the youth had lost faith in government and there was a general air of hopelessness. “In this situation,Gujarat proved a transformation was possible within the current system itself if we looked scientifically at the hurdles instead of trying to take shortcuts that might prove costly at a later stage.”

He said a new Gujarat was coming up within Gujarat that would come up with lots of development like nano cities,health cities,knowledge cities,not just clusters of factories but industrial townships on coastal areas that would make Gujarat epicentre of the entire hinterland of north India. He said now or some other time Gujarat would have to develop into a brand like Japan,where companies did not matter but the phrase Made in Japan mattered to buyers. But for this,he warned,a zero-defect manufacturing base was imperative.

Former Union minister Suresh Prabhu,attributing all progress in Gujarat to Modi,advocated freedom for states to take economic decisions. He said centralised planning had hampered Gujarat’s progress.

Dr Vikram Jit Chhatwal of Reliance Health Ventures Ltd,Punit Dalmia of Dalmia Cement Ltd,Rahul Mirchandani of Aries Agro Ltd and Yatindra Sharma,chairman of CII Gujarat Council also spoke during the panel discussion.

The earlier three sessions emphasised the need for developing soft skills with mentor support to young entrepreneurs. Rahul Mirchandani of Aries Agro Ltd said this was necessary for Gujarat to become as global manufacturing hub by 2020. He lamented that banks were risk-averse and not interested in spreading awareness about funding schemes for young entrepreneurs.

Chairman of Young Leaders’ Forum of the Indian Merchants Chamber Malav Dani advised participants to do what should be done and not what was convenient to do. He also lamented about the “archaic” labour laws hampering growth. Amit Patel of Danke Electricals Ltd expressed concern over lack of skill development initiatives and skilled manpower returning to native states like UP and Bihar that were growing too.

Pranav Adani of Adani Wilmer felt inclusive growth and ready market brought Gujarat to where it stood today.

In the session on financial and social leadership,views of Dr Dinesh Awasthi,director of Entrepreneurship Development Institute of India,were hailed. Laying stress on industry addressing social concerns while doing business,Dr Awasthi said NGOs survived till funding support survived. He advocated not one but three bottomlines in business: at the level of social,economic and environmental values.