President's Message
 

I wish you all a very happy and blessed new year. May this year bring in a lot more luck, laughter, and cheer in all our lives.

 

We are not at the crossroads but turning the corner as we greet each other in 2023.  We moved ahead announcing the Shastri Student Internship in India (SSII) programme and the Shastri Faculty Training in Applied Education (SFTAE) programme as part of the support for the Canadian Scholars in India Program (CSI).  I am very hopeful that our member institutions will make good use of this opportunity to participate in both these programmes so that the commitment to mutual engagement enshrined in the CSI programme will open linkages paving way for long-term partnerships across institutions facilitating greater scholar networking. 

 

I am also happy to note that we are finalizing the dates to ink an MoU with the Government of Alberta. I am also much delighted to share with everyone that Indian and Canadian institutions continue to engage with each other meaningfully.  Very recently the University of New Brunswick and Manipal Academy of Higher education signed a partnership to strengthen their degree programmes.  Clearly SICI’s mandate continues to pay dividends for partnering institutions.  SICI has also initiated a call for expression of interest among stake holders to be a part of the matching and mapping workshops in the area of One Health.

 

SICI has always committed itself to explore new channels to further soft diplomacy.  As part of such an initiative, there was a discussion with the visiting members of the Global Emerging Leadership Programs (GELP) from Canada to explore new contacts and linkages to enhance mobility of students across countries.  At the meeting, the Institute noted that it is important to engage more with indigenous knowledge systems and practices. This aspect which is one of the items listed as an important area of engagement in the Mapping and Matching Workshops came up for discussion while interacting with Charlene Bearhead, the renowned educator and indigenous educator advocate.

I wish to restate here SICI’s commitment to think out of the box and explore ways and means to launch new programmes that will benefit all its stakeholders.  On the flipside, the Addendum between Government of India and SICI is still in the making.  The Executive Committee of SICI is readying itself to shift gears so that there is smoother running of programmes and better returns for stakeholders.

 

I take this opportunity to acknowledge again the untiring work of the entire SICI team to stand tall despite the many challenges we continue to face.  The way forward is for Member Institutions to strengthen existing collaborations and discover new networks that match emerging research interests.    Let us hope that the virulence of the mutating virus will diminish for all of us to live in a healthier 2023. 

 

Let us pledge to dance and celebrate our strength, our health.

 

Thanks!

 

Dr. B. Hariharan

 
 
What's On?
 

SICI & Government of Saskatchewan MOU: The Next Steps

In order to increase cooperation via academic and research collaborations between India and the Province of Saskatchewan, Dr. Prachi Kaul, Director, Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute, met with Mr. Victor Lee, Managing Director, Saskatchewan India Office on November 2, 2022, at his office. Both the officials discussed their next plan of action as per MOU terms agreed between the two offices later last year.

Online Seminar Funded by SICI & MoE's SPARC Programme

On November 10, 2022, Dr. Prachi Kaul delivered inaugural address at the international online Seminar on "Advanced Technologies for Wastewater Management with Focus on Advanced Oxidation, Membrane & Algal Methodologies". The seminar, funded by SICI and Scheme for Promotion of Academic and Research Collaboration (SPARC) programme of Ministry of Education, Government of India, was organized by Dr. S. Mathava Kumar, Associate Professor in the Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Madras, who is also an awardee of SICI's Shastri Institutional Collaborative Research Grant (SICRG).

 

Virtual Session on ‘Tale of North-South IPR

Conflicts & Cooperation'
In a virtual session, Prof. Arindam Banik, Distinguished Professor in Economics, International Management Institute, Delhi, and SICRG awardee, presented his paper on ‘Tale of North-South IPR Conflicts & Cooperation' at the Lang School of Business, University of Guelph, Canada. Dr. Prachi Kaul in her opening remarks praised the collaboration between the two institutions and extended best wishes for future joint publications.
Partnerships @SICI: University of New Brunswick & Manipal Academy of Higher Education
In an exciting turn of events, SICI's esteemed members, University of New Brunswick (UNB), Canada and Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), joined hands and co-created dual degree programme in Nursing to address shortage of nurses in the province of New Brunswick. Team UNB had visited MAHE and the Manipal College of Nursing facilities in June 2022 to finalize the curriculum mapping and placement of additional learning modules to fulfil the requirements of both the universities. UNB is also partnering with Horizon Health Network, the Nurses Association of New Brunswick (NANB), the Department of Post-Secondary Education Training and Labour (PETL) and MAHE, located in Udupi, India, to bring more trained registered nurses to the province.

Global Emerging Leadership Programs (GELP), Canada,

Visits SICI Office

A team of Global Emerging Leadership Programs (GELP), Canada, visited SICI office on December 2, 2022, to discuss opportunities of working together in the areas of skill development, education abroad, leadership conferences, mentorship & guidance programmes. A team of 20 plus delegates was led by Omar Karim, Founder & President, GELP, who shared about GELP's multi-city tour of India and hosting in-person leadership conferences with university/college partners and a professional development event in partnership with regional/national based corporations in India.
Meeting with Andhra Pradesh State Council of Higher Education

In continuation with SICI's ongoing outreach to Indian states, on December 13, 2022, Prof. K. Hemachandra Reddy, Chairman, Andhra Pradesh State Council of Higher Education (APSCHE) and Prof. Rama Mohana Rao, Vice-Chairman, APSCHE, met with Dr. Prachi Kaul at their office in Guntur. Both the parties discussed about the possible areas of collaboration between APSCHE and SICI to enhance the quality of higher education in Andhra Pradesh and provide high quality programmes exclusively for the students, learners, researchers, faculty and academicians in the state.

Meeting with the Officials of Higher Education Department, Government of Telangana

In two successive meetings that were held on December 15 and 27, 2022, Dr. Prachi Kaul met with Ms. Karuna Vakati, Secretary to Government, Education Department, Government of Telangana, Mr. Navin Mittal, Commissioner of Collegiate and Technical Education, Govt of Telangana, Prof. R. Limbadri, Chairman, Telangana State Council of Higher Education and head of the institutions from the state universities of Telangana. Several higher education related initiatives pertaining to the state of Telangana were discussed keeping in view state's priority areas of interest and collaboration. These important initiatives will be facilitated by SICI, aimed at aligning activities with Canadian counterpart institutions and provinces to promote institutional collaboration, academic and research partnerships.
Prof. John R. Wood, SICI's Past President (1994-96) passes away
 

 

On November 23, 2022, Dr. John Wood, SICI's past President (1994-96)

passed away after a prolonged illness.

SICI expresses its deepest condolences to his family and friends.

 
 
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