SHILLONG, APR 7: The North-Eastern Hill University on the verge of its 50th year is able to develop several internal collaborations, exchanges and memorandums of understandings (MoU). As part of an ongoing understanding with Thailand and University of Chulalongkorn, Thailand, the NEHU today received a visiting Thai delegation led by Her Excellency, Ms. Pattarat Hongtong, Ambassador of Thailand to India.
The team led by the Ambassador of Thailand to India engaged with academicians of NEHU on a wide ranging discussion on subjects ranging from students and youth exchange to new Thai and new India relations.
From the side of NEHU, Prof. Prabha Shankar Shukla, the Vice-Chancellor led the team of deans, office of international affairs and other dignitaries in a mutually beneficial and actionable exchange of ideas. Topics and areas broached side included agriculture, plant based sciences, traditional knowledge system and traditional medicine of North-East India, cultural and civilisational linkages between North-East India and Thailand. Her Excellency Ms. Pattarat Hongtong responded positively to these proposals of joint research, academic programmes, pilgrimages and mutually beneficial learning exercises by mooting the idea that the exixting Indo-Thai collaborations can be given a greater depth. She pointed out that the ASEAN secretariat under India’s Ministry of External Affairs can facilitate a deeper and expansive collaboration to stay focused on areas of mutual benefits and interests. She exhorted NEHU to facilitate larger participation of Thai students in various academic programmes and promised to reciprocate by allowing for larger participation of NEHU students in terms of exchange, fellowships and other such openings in Thailand. She further emphasized on NEHU’s academic strength and expressed her willingness to facilitate collaborations between universities of Northern Thailand and NEHU.
In his remarks Prof. Prabha Shankar Shukla, the Vice-Chancellor of NEHU pointed out the need for further exchange of ideas in areas like bioinformatics, data sciences, medicine, nanosciences, innovative science and technology projects, culture, language and the arts. Her Excellency responded positively by underlining the fact that the Govt. of Thailand has a department of traditional medicine and aromatic plants and many universities work in these areas. Pointing at the possibility of fresh collaborations in these areas her excellency pointed at the active role of her office in bridging up between Thailand and Northeast of India as she fondly recognized Tai-Ahom and other such communities that share cultural roots in Thailand.
The newly established Office of International Office of NEHU has been tasked with striking up the existing collaboration between NEHU and Chulalongkorn University, which could further be extended to universities of Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai. The NEHU proposed to send a demarche of all the salient points made by her Excellency and Prof. Shukla.
By Our Reporter
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