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It’s April! We see spring coming slowly to Canada, while in many parts of India, summer temperatures are already being felt. Many of our member institutions, in both countries, have transitioned back to in-person classes, and, even though Covid is still very much with us, campuses are once again active, vibrant places. I am looking forward to travel again, as I am sure many of you are as well. It is especially good to hear about SICI scholars planning for summer mobility. The India and Canada offices are here to help you plan your collaborations.
February and March were very active months for both offices. The India Office (IO) announced the Shastri Conference & Lecture Series Grant (SCLSG) awardees, and there were a number of interesting and exciting lectures, conferences, and webinars held over the two months. Our new Matching and Mapping Clusters Workshop series was launched with the Agricultural Cluster as the inaugural event. The Government of Saskatchewan visited the IO in early March and I was able to participate in their visit virtually. For the past few years, one of the highlight events of SICI has been the celebration of International Women’s Day. This year was no different, Dr. Sonal Mansingh, Mozhdah Jamalzadah, and Dr. Malashri Lal led an exciting discussion focused on "Women in Leadership: Driving Change & Daring to Lead". It was a very well attended event with much discussion in the meeting chat.
The Canada Office (CO) was busy engaging Canadian members and provincial governments. I was able to virtually attend a very exciting and positive meeting with the government of Alberta and, as with Saskatchewan, we hope to be able to sign an agreement with the Alberta government in the near future. During the last two weeks of March, the CO visited Ontario member institutions and government of Canada officials. I was able to join them in Ottawa for a week. We met with His Excellency Ajay Bisaria, High Commissioner of India to Canada, several Members of Parliament, Global Affairs Canada, and Universities Canada. The week was very informative and positive. Understanding how SICI can fit into Government of Canada objectives and programmes is important for the future of SICI. With education as a mandate of the provinces, SICI must be prepared to engage the Government of Canada on issues of trade, health, food security, economic development, immigration, and other issues of bi-national importance. I believe that SICI is well positioned to demonstrate the value of bi-national collaboration in education and research. For over 50 years we have been developing global citizens, well prepared to address problems of importance to Canada and India, bringing real solutions to real problems. COVID has taught us to be adaptive and nimble with our programmes. Maintaining this momentum is vital to the future of SICI.
Dr. John Kershaw
President, Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute
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A series on "Showcasing & Disseminating Knowledge and Research (SDKR)": Prof. Coomi Vevaina & Dr. Richard Tremblay
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SDKR Session in progress
(Left) - Prof. Coomi Vevaina; (Right) - With Dr. Richard Tremblay |
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The Showcasing & Disseminating Knowledge and Research (SDKR) programme allows SICI awardees to share their research, the journey undertaken and its results and each month two SICI scholars share their research findings completed with funding support from the Institute. The mode of interaction for these events is virtual using video conference platforms such as Zoom, Google Meet, etc.
Under SDKR, SICI hosted two virtual events on February 15 & March 3, 2022, featuring Prof. Coomi Vevaina, former Head, Department of English, University of Mumbai, and founder Director of the Global Tipping Point Summit, and Dr. Richard Tremblay, Choreographer & Visiting Researcher, Kalamandalam State University of Kerala, respectively, who shared their academic and research journey, including experience they earned as SICI fellows, over the years.
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Dissemination & Orientation Session for
Shastri Conference and Lecture Series Grant Awardees
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Awardees during the Dissemination & Orientation Session
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On February 17, SICI welcomed its Shastri Conference & Lecture Series Grant (SCLSG) awardees from India & Canada at a virtual Orientation session to discuss & answer various elements, processes & procedures of the grant such as honorarium, budget, expenses, etc. SICI funded & supported 25 conferences and 25 lectures via SCLSG.
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Outreach to Member Institutions, Partners & Stakeholders
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(clockwise) SICI Canada Office team met with: H.E. Ajay Bisaria, High Commissioner of India to Canada, Ms. Apoorva Srivastava, Consul General of India, Toronto, Honourable MP, Chandra Arya, Honourable George Chahal, Honourable Jasraj Singh Hallan, and officials at Waterloo International, University of Waterloo |
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Throughout the months of February and March, SICI continued to meet, greet and discuss important matters related to higher education and academic research with its member institutions, partners and stakeholders in India and Canada. Dr. John Kershaw, President, SICI, Ms. Mahmuda Aldeen, Programme & Member Relations Officer and Mr. Sabu Alexander, Finance & Public Relations Officer, both from SICI's Canada Office, engaged with several entities to discuss potential opportunities of collaboration, support and promote SICI's mission of building linkages between the intellectual community of India and Canada.
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Government of Saskatchewan Minister Visits SICI Office
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Government of Saskatchewan Ministers and Officials at SICI's Office in New Delhi, India
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On March 7, 2022, Dr. Prachi Kaul, Director, SICI, along with the core team of the Institute welcomed Ms. Jodi Banks, Deputy Minister, Trade and Export Development, Ms. Richelle Bourgoin, Assistant Deputy Minister, International Engagement, Govt of Saskatchewan, Mr. Victor Lee, Managing Director, Saskatchewan India Office, and Ms. Shivanjali Sharma, Senior Trade and Investment Officer, Saskatchewan India Office. Both parties discussed partnership opportunities in the mutual areas of interest such as One Health, Agriculture, Education, etc. Dr. John Kershaw, President, SICI, & Dr. B. Hariharan, Vice-President/President Elect, SICI, also joined the meeting virtually to connect with the Ministers and other guests.
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International Women's Day 2022 Celebration
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Panellists during a virtual session on the occasion of International Women's Day 2022
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Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute and the High Commission of Canada in India jointly organized a high-level virtual panel discussion to mark the occasion of International Women's Day on March 8, 2022. The theme of this year's observance was "Women in Leadership: Driving Change & Daring to Lead!", in recognition and celebration of the women who have demonstrated leadership by contributing towards gender equality and driving change in women's role and participation in the societies of the world. Joining the discussion were Dr. Sonal Mansingh, Member of Parliament, Padma Vibhushan awardee, Guru of Bharatanatyam & Odissi dancing styles & Social Activist, Ms. Mozhdah Jamalzadah, Afghan-Canadian Singer & Women's Rights Activist, and Dr. Malashri Lal, Writer & Academic.
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Inaugural of SICI's Bi-national Agriculture Cluster
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Virtual Inaugural Event of SICI's Bi-national Agri Cluster |
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On March 15, 2022, and as a part of its strategic plan for the upcoming years, SICI launched its Bi-national Agriculture Cluster to boost collaboration in Agriculture and enhance innovation and entrepreneurship at all levels of higher education, research and training between India and Canada. In attendance were His Excellency Cameron MacKay, High Commissioner of Canada to India, Dr. Tilak Raj Sharma, Deputy Director General, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and Mr. Victor Lee, Managing Director, Saskatchewan India Office. His Excellency Ajay Bisaria, too, joined the event through a pre-recorded video message.
The cluster is headed by two Co-chairs, Dr. Deep Saini, President & Vice-Chancellor, Dalhousie University Canada, and Dr. Rajendra Prasad, Vice-Chancellor, University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore, to oversee the workings of the sub-clusters and to work on multiple inter-related areas of cooperation in agriculture and allied subjects. The six (6) identified sub-themes under the banner of Bi-national Agriculture Cluster are Precision/Smart Farming, Crop Science: Crop Improvement, Crop Protection, Soil Health, and Water Technology, Post-harvest/Food Processing & Technology, Animal Husbandry, Agriculture Economics, Marketing, and Entrepreneurship, and Wellbeing.
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Conferences and Lecture Series hosted by the member institutions of SICI with support and funding from Shastri Conference and Lecture Series Grant (SCLSG) were successfully held throughout the months of February and March 2022. These events were marked with the presence of thousands of talented scholars, students, scientists, young and brilliant researchers, faculty, educationists and political leaders representing India and Canada, who made them successful and productive. The events highlighted a wide range of themes covering all disciplines and streams of higher education and research such as - Climate, Sustainable Development, Water Management, One Health, Literature (French & English), Education and Research, ICT/Robotics, Energy, Sports, History, Medicine, Science & Engineering, Gender, Political Science, SARS-Covid-19, Agriculture, Waste Management, AI, Conservation and Preservation of Cultural Heritage, Food Security and Preservation & Conservation.
The esteemed guests, keynote speakers, well-known researchers, students and faculty shared their innovative research and vast experience through their fabulous presentations during these events. Due to space shortage in Engage, we request readers to click here and access event details for reference. Please feel free to check out SICI's official Facebook, Twitter & LinkedIN pages to get a glimpse of all the events held. Please contact siciaffairs@sici.org.in should you need further details.
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Centre for India-Canada Studies, University of Delhi, organized a series of webinars and lectures to facilitate new dialogues and discussions between India and Canada -
- February 24, 2022: The Changing Nature of Indian and Canadian Federalism
- March 30, 2022: Artificial Intelligence and Brain Biofields Quantum Computing
- March 31, 2022: Shastri - Pearson Lecture 2022; to celebrate 30 years of journey the CICS and 100 glorious years of the University of Delhi
Click here to know more about CICS's activities.
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Check out previous issues of Engage...
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