On his maiden visit to Panjab University (PU), Vice President of India and PU chancellor CP Radhakrishnan on Friday set an ambitious target for the university—to break into the top 100 universities in the world within the next five years.
Setting the target, the Vice President asked the gathering to reach out to him with suggestions on improving the university’s global rankings. The Vice President also addressed campus safety, stating that following the death of a PhD student in July, he had immediately directed the university authorities to undertake a comprehensive safety audit of the entire campus. Highlighting the importance of innovation, the Vice President said the transformation of Bio-NEST into the Panjab University Tech Innovation Forum as a Section 8 not-for-profit company represents a new institutional framework for advancing research, entrepreneurship and technology development.
Describing the day’s inaugurations as two important milestones, he said the installation of five advanced scientific instruments—Atomic Force Microscope, Raman Spectrometer, DNA Sequencer, Flow Cytometer and FTIR Spectrometer—would significantly strengthen the university’s research capabilities in fields including nanotechnology, materials science, environmental science and genomics. He said an internal committee had been constituted to review the existing infrastructure and submit a detailed report, and stressed that the safety and well-being of students and staff must remain the university’s highest priority.
Chandigarh MP Manish Tewari urged the Vice President to push for a centrally funded university dedicated to research and innovation in semiconductors and robotics in Chandigarh While the governors of Punjab and Haryana were present at the event. He pointed out that the first semiconductor laboratory was set up in Mohali in the 1980s. Radhakrishnan advised Tewari to raise the demand in Parliament and assured him that he would work to put PU at the forefront of research. The exchange also took a lighthearted turn, with Radhakrishnan teasing Tewari that political compulsions had prompted him to make the demand.
Referring to his own experience of being “back-stabbed” in politics, the Vice President quipped that Tewari would know all about it.
