Guru Nanak Dev University signs two MoUs to enhance research and promote entrepreneurial culture

Amritsar : Recognising the mutual benefits to be gained through a cooperative programme promoting scholarly activities and international understanding, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar inked memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with two different organisations to enhance research and promote entrepreneurial culture.The first MoU was signed with  Aarhus University in Denmark and CTIF Global Capsule (CGC), developing research activities at the international level, for collaboration in academics, research and faculty development. This MoU was signed by Guru Nanak Dev University’s Vice-Chancellor, Prof Jaspal Singh Sandhu and President Professor Ramjee Prasad, of Aarhus University in Denmark.  He is a technologist – and holder of a Danish knighthood – whose role includes the building of bridges between scientific research and the business world. All the parties under this MoU agreed to work together to provide business facilitation support programs, help build primary linkages with the commercial world, and hold programmes by business counsellors to share best practices, provide leadership and training opportunities for entrepreneurs and business owners.The second MoU was inked with signed a MoU with ‘Indigram Labs Foundation’ today to operationalize Technology- based Entrepreneurship Development Programme (TEDP).The collaboration between GNDU and ILF can be leveraged to facilitate linkage opportunities for innovations and start-ups.

The partnership will also serve as a platform for cross learning, sharing knowledge, best practices on innovation, and startup ecosystem development. It will also allow technology-based universities and institutes to undertake collaborative research and development in areas like agri-tech, agriculture, agri-business etc. “This is an important collaboration between the two incubators as this will help agri-business focused startups and to learn international business,” said Manisha Acharya, CEO, ILF. Through this MoU, startups will get to know about the entrepreneurial university model and practices in different sectors like food technology, agriculture, etc. They can also collaborate to explore new models of innovation by measuring the market potential in terms of desirability, feasibility, viability, and adaptability of the products. The startup interaction festival can be organized to bring together to meet for discussion and exchange ideas, vision and business acumen with each other to get familiarize with the business environment, products and services. The establishment of collaboration will pave a way for new opportunities with other reputed international organisations working actively in domains like agricultural technology, food technology, artificial intelligence and blockchain programming. This partnership is expected to serve as a platform to promote, participate and engage diverse stakeholders like expert mentors, institutes/universities/faculties, investors, media etc. Both the incubators (GNDU and ILF) can jointly participate in various events to meet investors, learn from worldwide successful entrepreneurs, explore market and technology trends

Prof. Sandhu said ‘Today marks nothing less than the beginning of a new era of cooperation for our University and Punjab. By teaming up, our university is creating a unique alliance and leading the way in shaping the future of various research partnerships. I am happy to look forward to continuing our dialogue in this regard. This initiative will further cement our university’s position as one of the world’s premier locations for research and innovation”. Prof Sandhu further said, “This collaboration is an immense opportunity to promote cooperative research and to facilitate the international exchange of ideas, the development of new knowledge and to enhance global research acumen through these hubs. The modes of cooperation could include faculty visits for collaboration in research, student mobility programs for learning, development of cooperative research projects and dissemination of finding through scholarly publication.On this occasion Dr. Preet Mohinder Singh Bedi, Coordinator University Industry linkage Programme said “Through closer collaboration and shared expertise, we will gain a deeper insight into our ground-breaking research and fulfil our joint ambition to address some of the biggest challenges facing society today. “We are looking forward to a fruitful collaboration with Aarhus University, ranked 119 in the world, through academic programmes in instruction, research and faculty development. Dr. Bedi said “We are looking forward to a fruitful collaboration with Aarhus University, ranked 119 in the world, through academic programmes in instruction, research and faculty development “. Dr. Bedi further said “This collaboration will create more opportunities for our students and faculty members. MoU is to provide a good foundation for long-term development between the two universities. Both universities will benefit through international exchanges that will not only enrich the campus environment but also provide students with international learning experiences.