The progress of the nation depends on its sustained growth of education and research in science and technology. To meet the objective, our research should bear international comparison in terms of standards of attainment. A major weakness of Indian education and research is the relatively very small part played by the universities in the sum total of Indian research. The government can take several steps to encourage research and innovations in the universities. Promotion of research in liberal arts and social sciences, including inter-disciplinary research is significant too. The government needs to increase its allocations for Rand D activities. At the institutional level, there is a need to link teaching with research. The government needs to invest in faculty development and provide incentives for research, promote collaborative efforts between institutions in research.

• In what ways, aptitude for research and innovation should be developed in students and faculty members?
• What measures are needed to develop research capabilities of teachers and students?
• In what ways, research agenda should be prioritized at the higher education level?
• How private agencies can be encouraged and motivated to invest funds in university research and innovation activities?
• Which of the following strategies need to be pursued for promoting research & innovation

Outcome based research financing.
Liberal research grants for both social sciences and basic sciences.
Setting up Incubation Centers with Seed Money to do innovative research
Research leading to creation of intellectual property.
Setting up Research Parks in central educational institutions.
Joint appointments of faculty – enabling researchers to teach and teachers to engage in research.
Inter-disciplinary research – Institutions must come together for creating new knowledge at the intersections of existing disciplines.

• How can we make India become a favoured destination for R&D projects. How can we explore getting grants from abroad for R&D?

Name of the Moderator: Prof. Partha P. Chakrabarti, Director, IIT Kharagpur
Day, Date & time: Thursday, 18th June, 2015, 4.00 PM.