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Dr. Mini S Thomas
President, SICI
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Greetings!
I took over as the President of SICI in July 2020, when the COVID-19 Pandemic had disrupted the higher education sector, however, SICI and its member institutions very quickly adapted to this new normal, by building a virtual community and enthusiastically conducted many innovative events!
I am glad to report that we added 18 new members to SICI this year, a positive sign of growth of the organization, now 131 from India, out of a total of 170. Members are our strength and we are getting stronger day by day with additions to our family.
As the President, my priorities were to continue the much sought after programmes of SICI, launch new COVID related programmes, and to develop a 5-year strategic plan to take the Institute to newer heights. Amidst the challenging times, I am glad to report that we introduced Shastri Covid-19 Pandemic Response Grant (SCPRG): Call for Innovative Solutions and MITACS - SICI Partnership: Globalink Research Award programmes. We could complete the Golden Jubilee Conference and Lecture series with 30 events!
The 5-year strategic plan development was done after extensive survey of important stakeholders, our member Institutions, SICI Alumni and distinguished office bearers of SICI over the years. A rigorous SWOT analysis of the Institute was done and the strategies drawn. The overarching idea is to bring in more funding and programmes to SICI from multiple sources, by connecting with Industries, Foundations, R&D institutions, States of India and Provinces of Canada, in addition to the funding from Ministry of Education, Government of India and I am glad we could make significant progress in terms of fostering ties with all.
The fruits of this effort is visible now with SICI proceeding to sign an MoU with the province of Saskatchewan, Canada, our dialogue is on with other provinces in Canada, to improve the financial health of the institute - especially at the Canadian end.
The Xth Addendum of the MoU between the SICI and the Government of India came to a close on March 31, 2021. We have requested the Ministry of Education to allow SICI to continue the programmes and submitted the budget estimates for 2021-22 to the Ministry. The Proposal for the XIth Addendum to the Ministry of Education was prepared by November 2020 for submission, however, as an obligation, MoE has initiated a third-party review of the Institute before the renewal of the next Addendum. Hence, the proposal submission is delayed and we remain positive to receive continued support from MoE to deliver the mandate that has been set by the Government of India for the Institute.
My ten months of Presidency saw the first and second wave of the Pandemic raging in both countries. This prevented me from physically meeting and interacting with valued colleagues and visit member institutions in both countries. Still, we made up with online meetings and I am extremely happy to report that it has been an interesting experience and journey for me. I wish to place on record my sincere thanks to each one of you, the past Presidents, Executive Council (EC) members, Ministry of Education, both High Commissions, Dr. Prachi Kaul and SICI India & Canada offices' staff.
Wishing the new team under Prof. John Kershaw, good luck!
Stay safe and hope to meet each other in person sometime!
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Indian Members' Council Meeting
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SICI’s Annual Indian Members’ Council (IMC) Meeting is an opportunity to bring together its members to deliberate and celebrate the accomplishments and future endeavours of the Institute in the past one year and plans for the next one. This year on May 22, 2021, SICI hosted its second virtual IMC meeting. His Excellency Ajay Bisaria, High Commissioner for India to Canada, attended the Inaugural session and presented the Government of India report to SICI’s members. During the meeting, the IMC elected four new office bearers of SICI who will take over their charges with the convening of the Annual General Meeting scheduled for June 19, 2021.
Newly elected members are, Dr. B Hariharan, Professor and Head of the Department, Institute of English, University of Kerala, as the Vice President/President elect, Dr. Manzoor Shah, Director, Directorate of Internal Quality Assurance, and Associate Professor, Department of Botany, University of Kashmir, as the Member-at-large, Dr. Faizan Mustafa, Vice-Chancellor, The National Academy of Legal Studies and Research (NALSAR), as the Nomination Committee Chair and Dr. K Gayithri, Professor, Department for International Development (DFID) for Framework for Performance assessment, Institute for Social & Economic Change (ISEC), as the Member -Nomination Committee. SICI is looking forward to welcoming them on board.
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Above: His Excellency Ajay Bisaria, High Commissioner for India to Canada (left), and Honourable Gene Makowsky, Minister of Advanced Education, Government of Saskatchewan, Canada (right)
Another highlight of the meeting was “Engaging India – Engaging Canada: SICI – Saskatchewan Partnership session” which preceded the IMC Meeting. Dr. John Kershaw, VP/President Elect, SICI and Dr. Mini Shaji Thomas, President, SICI, delivered welcome remarks and invited H.E. Ajay Bisaria, High Commissioner for India to Canada and Honourable Gene Makowsky, Minister of Advanced Education, Government of Saskatchewan, Canada to share their thoughts about this partnership venture. The Government of Saskatchewan and Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute will be signing a MoU in the future to enhance co-operation and strengthen ties between educational institutions through research and the movement of students and academics between India and Saskatchewan.
Honourable Minister Gene Makowsky said, “Global partnerships are created through mobility and research agreements between our post-secondary education institutions. Saskatchewan values our long-standing relationship with India, and we look forward to continuing collaboration on research projects, knowledge and exchange of ideas.”
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- Equity and Inclusion in Higher education: Challenges and Opportunities for the ODL System under the NEP-2020 Regime in India - Prof. Debal K. SinghaRoy; Shastri Mobility Programme (SMP) 2017-18
- Revisiting Trauma: Wounds Seen and Unseen in Canadian and Indian Prison Narratives: Lavanya Dalal; Shastri Research Student Fellowship (SRSF) 2019-20
- A research paper penned by Dr. Mohar Daschaudhuri, Assistant Professor, Department of French, University of Calcutta, called "L'Inquiétante étrangeté et le double dans l'écriture migrante: les cas de Ying Chen et de Linda Lê" ["The Uncanny and the Double in the Works of Ying Chen and Linda Lê"] has been published in the book, "L'Extrême Contemporain, Québec", edited by Dr. Hélène Amrit and Dr. Vijaya Rao. The paper was the outcome of Shastri Mobility Programme grant awarded to her in 2018. For details, check Goyal Publishers, New Delhi 2021.ISBN: 978-93-90474-86-8, page numbers: 47-68.
- Wilson Chacko Jacob, Professor, Department of History, Concordia University, Canada, won the Canadian Historical Association’s Wallace K. Ferguson Prize in April 2021 for his book called “For God or Empire: Sayyid Fadl and the Indian Ocean World” (as the best book on a subject outside Canadian history). The book is a result of Shastri Publication Grant (SPG) which was awarded to him in 2018. A CHA roundtable discussion will also be held on August 4 to discuss about his book. For details, click here!
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IIT Madras has signed a Joint Doctoral Programme (JDP) agreement with the University of Alberta, Canada, in March 2021. The JDP programme offers opportunities for joint research between the academicians and students of both the institutions. Students enrolled in the JDP will be jointly supervised by the academics at both the institutions. JDP students would spend 6 months to one year at the partner institution, and on successful completion of the programme the JDP student will be duly recognised.
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Manipal Academy of Higher Education and the University of British Columbia have signed a partnership agreement to broaden and deepen academic and research collaborations between India and Canada. The two leading institutions will work together under the new agreement to address issues of global relevance outlined in the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals. Researchers from MAHE and UBC have already been collaborating for many years in Health Sciences, and the new partnership will further deepen the Canada-India ties.
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SICI’s Annual General Meeting (AGM)
and
Canadian Members' Council (CMC) Meeting
June 19, 2021 | 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM (MST)
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Check out previous issues of Engage...
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