Itanagar: Union skill development and entrepreneurship minister Dharmendra Pradhan virtually inaugurated the state-of-the-art satellite centre of IIM Shillong in Arunachal Pradesh’s Tawang district on Monday.
A first-of-its-kind collaboration between the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Shillong and any state government in the northeast, the satellite centre will work for capacity building of administrative officers of the state, especially in management skills and necessary policy interventions.
This association will also make IIM Shillong the think tank for the Arunachal government as it will work in sectors like tourism, health, etc.
The satellite centre is a result of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by the Government of Arunachal Pradesh and the Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam Centre for Policy Research & Analysis, IIM Shillong initiated by Khandu and taken forward by former chief secretary Naresh Kumar.
Speaking virtually from New Delhi, Pradhan congratulated IIM Shillong and Government of Arunachal Pradesh and termed the occasion historic. He said it is not a simple inaugural ceremony but a big step towards professionalism in governance and public delivery.
“With the expertise of a reputed institution like IIM Shillong capacity building of administrative officers will pave the way in successful governance bringing happiness to citizens, which is the objective of the government,” he said.
Pradhan suggested that the Centre, in the long run, become a hub of learning and gaining skills that will eventually turn the youths from job seekers to job givers. He said the new National Education Policy has been conceived and implemented to achieve the same. As IIM Shillong has an important role in successful implementation of the policy, he expressed hope that this Satellite Centre will emerge as a boon for the process.
Pradhan assured to visit Arunachal Pradesh soon so that he can sit with the chief minister and chalk out a definite roadmap for a ‘Arunachal Pradesh of the 21st century’.
Chief Minister Pema Khandu in his short address expressed optimism that IIM Shillong will provide critical managerial interventions to help the State government in implementing its flagship projects as policy makers and administrators will be trained to improve efficiency and leadership skills.
“Through this collaboration we also expect training and entrepreneurship development programmes to promote the startup ecosystem in the state. As a think tank to the Government of Arunachal Pradesh, I am sure that IIM Shillong will provide quality inputs for a more inclusive sustainable development in the state,” he said.
Khandu informed that the Centre, to begin with, will function from a temporary location in Tawang while a permanent campus and building comes up. He said both the MLAs of the district have been asked to collaborate with the district administration to provide the centre a permanent campus.
He also suggested that in the future, the Centre can also provide capacity building and training to officers of the Indian Army, paramilitary forces and central government agencies like BRO to enhance their skills on working in Arunachal Pradesh.
“Not only officers, we also plan to provide training to our legislators in this centre,” he added.
This is a first-of-its-kind collaboration between IIM Shillong and any state government in the Northeast. This holistic approach towards development will inspire other states to tap into the expert advice offered by IIM Shillong, which will collaborate with the officials of Arunachal Pradesh in developing policies and a roadmap for business development in the handloom, horticulture, tourism, logistics and BPO sectors.
The first training for deputy commissioners of the state also began at the centre on Monday.
The inaugural ceremony was also attended by local legislators Tsering Tashi and Jambey Tashi, IIM-Shillong chairman of the board of governors Shishir Bajoria, state planning and investment commissioner Prashant Lokhande, Shillong IIM director D P Goyal and deputy commissioners from across the state.
CM launches Vidya Vistar: Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Monday launched the Vidya Vistar (V2) scheme of the prestigious Hindu College, New Delhi through which it will partner with three colleges in the North East including the Dorjee Khandu Government College in Tawang.
The other two colleges to be included in the partnership programme are North Kamrup College, Guwahati, Assam and Nar Bahadur Bhandari College, Tadong, Sikkim.
Attending the launch through virtual mode as the chief guest, Khandu expressed gratitude to the Delhi University and his alma mater Hindu College on behalf of the people of North East and Arunachal Pradesh in particular for accepting to collaborate and partner with the three colleges in the region as mentor under the novel initiative of DU’s Vidya-Vistar.
“The Vidya Vistar initiative of DU will open channels of communication and exchange among academic institutions which has tremendous potential to improve outcomes. Best part is that affluent colleges like the Hindu College will be mentoring colleges in remote areas,” he observed.
As the Vidya Vistar scheme is based on the principle of mutual respect, cooperation and sharing between two academic institutions, Khandu expressed optimism that that the Dorjee Khandu Govt College and the other two colleges – one in Assam and the other in Sikkim – will benefit a lot from the pool of resources, knowledge and expertise of Hindu College, one of the top ranking colleges in the country.
Khandu hoped that through this venture, Hindu College’s expertise in the field of sciences, humanities and arts, its resources in the library and several other academic activities, facilities such as participation in workshops and short-term value-added courses will be made available to the colleges.
As augmenting the capacity of faculty members is one of the primary steps for enhancing academic capital of an educational institution, he suggested that the faculty members of the colleges be provided professional training and exposure to enhance their capabilities through online as well as offline endeavours.
“I call upon the authorities and faculty members of the Dorjee Khandu Govt College, Tawang, to make optimal use of this opportunity so that our students, who are the future of our state and the country, benefit the most and add quality to the pool of human resource of the country,” Khandu added. CMMC
