Central University of Punjab celebrated its 13th Foundation Day

Bathinda : The Central University of Punjab, Bathinda (CUPB) under the patronage of Vice Chancellor Prof. Raghavendra P. Tiwari celebrated its 13th Foundation Day on Monday by honouring the contributions of its faculty, staff members, and students in their respective fields. The eight-day celebrations (which included international quiz contests, lecture series by distinguished speakers, cultural events, and more) concluded with a grand ceremony. Prof. Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar, Chairman, University Grants Commission, graced the Foundation Day Ceremony as the Chief Guest and delivered the Foundation Day Lecture on the topic ‘Education for Sustainable Development”. The Guest of Honour to the programme was Prof. Jai Rup Singh, Founder Vice Chancedllor, Central University of Punjab. Prof. Buta Singh (Vice Chancellor, Maharaja Ranjit Singh Punjab Technical University) and Prof. Gurmail Singh (Vice Chancellor, Akal University), were among the distinguished academicians who attended the occasion as special guests.

On this occasion, the Chief Guest, Prof. M. Jagadesh Kumar, congratulated the CUPB fraternity on completing thirteen years in the field of higher education. While delivering the Foundation Day Address through virtual platform, Prof. Jagadesh Kumar stated that innovations in science and technology have made our lives somewhat comfortable, but the excessive usage of natural resources along with the production of plastic waste has also polluted our environment more. He asserted that the concept of sustainable development can only be achieved with coordinated efforts at all levels, along with good governance and education for sustainable development.

In his address, Prof. Jagadesh Kumar highlighted that Indian culture and civilization, based on the philosophy of ‘Sarve Bhavantu Sukhinah’ has always taught us to live in harmony with nature. He underlined that to achieve Sustainable Developement Goals, the Higher Education Institutions need to promote environment friendly practises among youngsters and provide them with value-based education to make them global citizens. He encouraged the younger generation to adopt a simple lifestyle by taking inspiration from Mahatma Gandhi and work towards environment conservation.

The Guest of Honour of the Programme, Prof. Jai Rup Singh, expressed his delight that the university, which began its journey from a small camp office in 2009 with just 10 students, has grown into 500-acre campus, that is attracting faculty and students from all across the country and overseas. He attributed the exceptional growth of CUPB to university’s research centric approach, transparent system and dedicated faculty & staff members. He emphasized on the need for the promotion of scientific temper and the spirit of inquiry among students.

During the Foundation Day Programme, special guests conveyed their best wishes to the university community. In his address, Prof. Gurmail Singh (Vice Chancellor, Akal University) stated that the growth journey of the CUPB is commendable as the university, within the short span of 13 years since its establishment, has obtained key milestones like the youngest central university that has obtained the 84th rank (University Category) in the NIRF 2021 rankings, “A” Grade accreditation from NAAC in the first cycle, etc. Prof. Buta Singh (Vice Chancellor, MRSPTU) complimented Vice Chancellor Prof. Tiwari for adopting a collaborative approach to work together with regional HEIs for the skilling and upskilling of youngsters and expressed hope that the university would grow leaps and bounds under his dynamic leadership.

In his presidential address, Prof. Raghavendra P. Tiwari, the Vice- Chancellor, expressed his gratitude towards the former Vice Chancellors (Prof. Jai Rup Singh and Prof. R.K. Kohli) of CUPB for laying a solid foundation which would help to actualize the university’s vision of transforming minds to serve humanity through skills and innovation driven teaching and research; values and community outreach. He mentioned that the ultimate objective of ‘Education for Sustainable Development’ is to create an awareness among youngsters to judiciously use of the available resources and preserve our ecosystem for future generations. He stressed on the need for inclusion of a Universal Human Values component in the course curriculum for the holistic development of learners. Prof. Tiwari encouraged CUPB employees to contribute their best to the developement of the university and motivated CUPB scientists to find innovative solutions to social problems with a focus on interdisciplinary research.

During this ceremony, special awards and appreciation certificates were conferred on university students, research scholars, faculty, and staff members based on their annual performance. Dr. Sachin Kumar (Dept. of Mathematics and Statistics) and Dr. Rubal Kanozia (Dept. of Mass Communication & Media Studies) received Outstanding Research Awards in the sciences and humanities streams, respectively. Dr. Vinod Kumar and Dr. Aklank Jain received the ‘Role of Honour’ Award for getting five commendation certificates. The research awards were conferred to Dr. Aklank Jain, Dr. Sachin Kumar, Dr. Nasir Salam Dr. Shashank Kumar, Prof. Raj Kumar, Dr. Prafulla Kumar Sahoo, Dr. Anoop Kumar, Dr. Jasvinder Singh Bhatti, Prof. Anjana Munshi, Prof. Anil Kumar Mantha, Prof. Monisha Dhiman, Dr. Vikas Jaitak, Dr. Puneet Kumar, Dr. Krishna Kanta Haldar, Dr. Ashok Kumar, Dr. Yogalakshmi K.N., Dr. Sandeep Singh, Dr. Uma Shankar, Dr. Sunil Mittal, Dr. Suresh Thareja, Dr. Virender Singh, Dr. Manju Jain, Dr. Pritam Chand and Dr. Achchhe Lal. Apart from this, Prof. Raj Kumar, Prof. Felix Bast and Dr. J.K. Patnaik received the Certificate of Appreciation. PhD students Atul Kumar Singh and Ritu Arya received the Best Research Scholar Award. Ms. Shweta Bawa, Mr. Deepak Kumar, and Mr. Jyoti Singh received the Registrar’s Award for Best Non-Teaching Employees.

During the cultural programme, students showcased spectacular singing, dancing and other performances on topical issues of great relevance. The Registrar, Shri Kanwal Pal Singh Mundra, thanked the Chief Guest and other guests for their gracious presence. He gave a formal vote of thanks towards the end.