The Eighteenth DU Colloquium talk was delivered by Professor Anil Mehrotra, Department of Chemical & Petroleum Engineering, Schulich School of Engineering, University of Calgary, Canada on the topic “Activities and programs of the Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute (SICI)"on December 1, 2016 in the Indira Miri Conference Hall, Dibrugarh University. Professor Mehrotra is also currently holding the key position of Secretary-Treasurer of Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute (SICI).
In his deliberation, Professor Mehrotra highlighted the functioning of the SICI.The mission of this programme holds on to improve the quality of life of the people of Canada and India by building and strengthening intellectual and cultural linkages through research, dialogue and exchange.
Reminiscing his meeting with Lal Bahadur Shastri the then Prime Minister of India when he was just 14 years of age and the inspiration he got. Professor Mehrotra informed the house about how the idea of establishing the Shastri Indo- Canadian Institute came into being. Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri visitedMcGill University in June 1965 where he envisaged an institutional understanding and framework to endorse and carry forward academic and scholarly exchange and activity especially in the areas of humanities and social sciences. The encouragement and promotion of university level teaching and research on India in Canadian educational institutions was the basic and initial purpose of the Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute.
He further gave emphasis on the various grants and scholarly exchange of views and ideas between universities of Canada and India by being a member of the SICI in his deliberation. Almost two-third of the total universities under SICI are from India whereas one-third from Canada, he added. He informed the house about the MoU being signed between SICI and Government of India for 5years for such collaborative endeavour. He also mentioned various programmes and activities run by SICI such as student mobility, internship and exchange program, faculty research, faculty mobility and curriculum development, doctoral and post doc studies at Canadian and Indian universities etc.
The programme ended with a vote of thanks.