President's Message
 

In my previous message I had signed off drawing attention to how the organization is dedicated to enhance the engagement between the two nations upholding its bi-national commitment.  I would like to share with all of you that in the last few months we have been able to move in this direction with tangible results. The Department of Foreign Affairs Trade, Trade and Development, Government of Canada signed a Contribution Agreement with SICI to support the Canadian Scholars in India Program (CSI).  I am very happy to note that this agreement is for a period of two years and am sure this will add new vigour to our programming and soft diplomacy. 

 

I am also happy to share with you that we have significantly moved forward to prepare ourselves to sign an MoU with the Government of Alberta which, I am sure, will open up more avenues for funding, co-operation, and new linkages.  The SICI Prairie Regional Conference at University of Saskatchewan held in October in hybrid mode reinforces our commitment to engage with institutions and scholars from our two countries. 

 

SICI has always strived to ensure continuity in its programming and the partnership meeting as part of the matching and mapping workshop involving the Indian Council for Agricultural Research in early October has opened new avenues for research and collaboration.

 

We have been able to announce many programmes this time building on the various MoUs and agreements with funding institutions.  I wish to take this opportunity to emphasize anew SICI’s commitment to think out of the box and explore ways and means to launch new programmes that will benefit all its stakeholders.  It was with a lot of hope that I shared with everyone how the organization is waiting at the doorway to be informed that the Addendum is ready to be inked between Government of India and SICI.  The waiting is tiring and makes me skeptical at times but I recognize that it is important to look forward to a tomorrow when the spirit of bi-national engagement will be truly upheld with that much needed moral and financial support.

I take this opportunity to acknowledge the untiring work of the entire SICI team to stand tall despite the many challenges we continue to face.  Informed by the wisdom and experience of the Executive Committee, I am sure we will be able to navigate through the rapids and sand bars we are bound to encounter as we navigate the waters.  Let us hope that we will really turn the corner to a healthier and safer world and greet each other without pixels blinking us across space. 

 

Merry Christmas and a very healthy, and rich year ahead to all the members of the SICI family.

 

 

Thank you.

 

Dr. B. Hariharan

 
 
What's On?
 

SICI's Visit to Chandigarh University
In continuation with SICI's growing network of members in India & Canada, Dr. Prachi Kaul, Director, SICI, and Ms. Pikee Sharma, Programme Officer - Communications & Facilitation, SICI, paid visit to the clean and green campus of Chandigarh University (CU) on August 1, 2022. In a series of meetings with the top officials of the university, Dr. Kaul had the opportunity to interact with Mr. Satnam Singh Sandhu, Chancellor, Dr. R. S. Bawa, Pro Chancellor, and Dr. Anand Agrawal, Vice-Chancellor, all from Chandigarh University. Dr. Kaul shared how SICI has been successfully creating right opportunities for scholars in India and Canada through its programmes, grants and activities to enhance collaboration between institutions in all areas of study. In this regard, both the organizations agreed to work closely with each other for the benefit of students, faculty and researchers at-large by promoting academic and research collaborations between institutions. During the campus tour, Dr. Kaul visited CU's own Satellite Ground Station & Centre for Innovation & Research and Technology Business Incubator to witness some of the cutting-edge work done by the students of CU. A perfect example of developing academia and industry collaboration at CU has been the setting up of industry sponsored infrastructure with the support from multinational corporates at its campus. The top areas of research conducted at CU are Engineering, Pharmacy, Agriculture, Applied Sciences, Management, and Biotechnology.

 

International Youth Day 2022

To mark the occasion of International Youth Day on August 12, 2022, the Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute hosted accomplished young leaders and entrepreneurs in a virtual session to showcase the power of youth in transforming the world of start-ups. The session was graced by Mr. Ankit Agarwal, Founder, Kanpur Flower Cycling Pvt. Ltd. & Phool.co, India, Ms. Vartika Manasvi, Director, Start-ups, MaRS Discovery District, Canada, and Mr. Martin Basiri, Co-Founder & CEO, ApplyBoard, Canada, all tech geniuses, who became youth icons par excellence with their sheer determination and passion to drive positive changes both in the professional world as well as in society. During their inspiring talk, all of the speakers shared about their respective career and life journey, the life-altering lessons that became the watershed moments of their life which led to innovations and discoveries in their field of operation to revolutionise entrepreneurial landscape in India and Canada.
India Smart Grid Forum

On August 16, 2022, SICI in collaboration with the India Smart Grid Forum organized an engaging talk on "Global Inflationary Crisis and Impact on Decarbonization" at India International Center in New Delhi. Mr. Ravi Seethapathy, Executive Chairman, Biosirus Inc. Markham, Ontario, Canada, delivered the keynote address during the session that aimed at sharing practical and cost-effective decarbonization plans to achieve Net Zero 2050 as climate change severely affects planet earth. Attending the session were Mr. Reji Kumar Pillai, President, ISGF & Chairman, Global Smart Energy Federation (GSEF), Dr. Shanthi Johnson, Secretary Treasurer, SICI, and participants from a wide network of academia and industry.

Jamia Hamdard University Officials' Visit to SICI Office

 
SICI hosted the visit of top officials from Jamia Hamdard University in its office, led-by Dr. Afshar Alam, Vice-Chancellor, on August 17, 2022. A power-packed roundtable discussion was held to share and discuss Jamia Hamdard University's strengths and niche areas to solidify academic and research collaborations with the Canadian member institutions of SICI though Institute's facilitation cell. Dr. Alam, and his team of Deans and other top officials discussed about Under-graduate, Post-graduate and Doctoral programmes offered by their University including advanced facilities available for students and scholars of all age groups at the campus premises. The core areas of collaboration expressed by the University are Pharmacy, Nursing, Ayurveda, Computer Applications, Physiotherapy and Occupational Therapy.
Meeting with Dr. Rakesh Chandra Agrawal,
Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR)

In a series of meetings held with ICAR throughout the year to explore potential partnership and collaboration, on September 8, 2022, Dr. Prachi Kaul and Dr. Reshma Rana Verma, Programme Officer, SICI, met with Dr. Rakesh Chandra Agrawal, Deputy Director General (Agriculture Education) and National Director, National Agricultural Higher Education Project, ICAR, Dr. Kaul discussed about  next steps in order to engage India and Canada effectively and on expanding access to joint research collaboration and learning opportunities in Agriculture and allied subjects to open doors for a two-way student, researcher & faculty mobility. Efforts are being made to actualize a formal agreement between the two entities to bring Indian and Canadian agricultural scientists, faculty, organizations, students and researchers to work and collaborate in the mutual areas of interest and cooperation.
Meeting with Huron at Western University

Dr. Prachi Kaul met with Dr. Barry Craig, President, Huron at Western, and Ms. Lisa Jones Keenan, Vice-President, University Growth at the Appreciation Lunch hosted by them at Taj Mahal Hotel, New Delhi, on September 18, 2022. The two leaders discussed, and exchanged ideas towards enhanced partnerships facilitating student and researcher collaborations and mobility between India and Canada. Dr. Kaul shared a number of new initiatives started by SICI to bring higher education institutions of India and Canada closer for advanced collaboration in research and innovation.

 Dalhousie University Institutional Mission to India

Dr. Deep Saini, President & Vice-Chancellor, Dalhousie University, led a team of seven (7) officials for a two-week institutional mission to India from Oct 10 to 22, 2022, covering 7 cities, namely New Delhi, Sonipat, Chandigarh, Coimbatore, Bangalore, Tirupati and Mumbai, with an aim to showcase and build Dalhousie University’s presence in India. The delegation visit was facilitated by the Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute. Dalhousie University has identified India as a priority country for the establishment of new research/academic partnerships, increased student/faculty mobility, and undergraduate and graduate student enrolment. Its India Strategy will guide collaborative activities over the next five years.

 

During their visit, the officials met Head of the institutions, Deans, Faculty and students of some 40 plus Indian member institutions of SICI to explore and establish joint academic programmes and campus in India proposed under new National Education Policy. Besides higher education institutions, SICI also facilitated meetings with its important stakeholders such as University Grants Commission, Ministry of Education, Government of India, High Commission of Canada in India, Indian Council of Agricultural Research and Indian Agricultural Research Institute. 
Interaction with the Governments of Karnataka & Maharashtra
On October 18 & 20, Dr. Prachi Kaul met with Prof. Prof. Thimme Gowda, Vice Chairman, Karnataka State Higher Education Council (KSHEC) and Mr. Vikas Chandra Rastogi, Principal Secretary, Higher & Technical Education Department, Govt of Maharashtra, respectively, to discuss partnership opportunities between SICI, Canada and the higher education and research institutions and bodies of their respective states. Both the officiass welcomed the ideas and proposal to enhance cooperation and promote partnership with the state governments so as to engage a broader, cross-section of scholars and researchers from Karnataka and Maharashtra.

 

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In Other News...

 

Talks & Webinars by Canadian Librarians hosted by the

Library, IIT Gandhinagar

Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar organised two talks - one virtual and another in person - by two Indian & Canadian library colleagues.

 

- Evaluating information: Going Beyond Deceptive Publishing, Fake News, and Bias in Scientific Literature | August 8, 2022 | An online talk by Ms. Aditi Gupta, Advisor (Library & Institute Archives), Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar

 

The talk was focussed on how academic libraries in Canada and elsewhere are constantly transforming based on the needs of the higher education system and advances in scholarly research and technology. 

 

- What is New & Happening in Academic & Research Libraries in Canada | August 23, 2022 | An in-person interaction led by Ms. Aditi Gupta

 

The discussion was aimed at finding the hassles of fake news, connecting them to real life, kinds of bias, news source and their varying credibility, and various evaluation techniques for choosing the right article for every researcher.

 
Dr. Anil Mehrotra, University of Calgary, is
the Winner of the Jules Stachiewicz Medal 

Dr. Anil Mehrotra, Professor, Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, University of Calgary, and former Secretary-Treasurer of SICI, received the prestigious Jules Stachiewicz Medal at the Canadian Chemical Engineering Conference 2022 Conference, held in Vancouver, BC from October 22 to 26. Sponsored jointly by the Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering and the Canadian Society for Mechanical Engineering (CSME), this award recognizes contributions in the field of heat transfer, including design, research, manufacturing and teaching.

 

Congratulations, Dr. Mehrotra!
Distinctive Achievement Award for Dr. Shanthi Johnson

On August 20, 2022, Dr. Shanthi Johnson, Secretary-Treasurer, SICI, received Distinctive Achievement Award from Honourable Amarjeet Sohi, the Mayor of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, for her contributions in the field of post-secondary education. The event was organized by Council of India Societies of Edmonton.

 

Congratulations, Dr. Johnson!
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