AIU VCs’ Meet: Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Calls Upon Students To Practise Restful Alertness

Cuttack: Founder of Art of Living Sri Sri Ravi Shankar has called upon the students to take some time from the gadgets and practise restful alertness (meditation) which is researched to nourish the hippocampus of the human brain. 

Delivering the valedictory address at the central zone vice-chancellors’ conference of the Association of Indian Universities (AIU), hosted virtually by Sri Sri University, Cuttack on February 8 and 9, Ravi Shankar said education is not a process of job creation only but an evolutionary process of human life.

He advised for an ecosystem and building image of new India to attract international students to the country. He said perception, observation, and expression are three important components of education.

Attending the inaugural session as chief guest, Governor of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh Anandiben Patel acknowledged AIU for its contribution towards building a strong ecosystem for achieving excellence in higher education and implementation of NEP 2020. The theme of the conference was ‘Promoting Quality, Research and Internationalisation in Higher Education’.

Odisha Minister of Higher Education, Agriculture and Farmers’ Empowerment, Fisheries and Animal Resource Development Arun Kumar Sahoo said the state government aims at providing all support and tools to institutions to perform in full capacity.

Rajita Kulkarni, president, Sri Sri University stated that India is progressing to become self-sufficient (Atmanirbhar). With a strong research and development, India has fought against COVID-19 by producing vaccines and supplying to 15 countries of the world. 

Dr Pankaj Mittal, secretary general, AIU emphasised on implementation of the NEP-2020 to make India a ‘Vishwaguru’. She also gave a virtual overview of the facilities and initiatives of AIU in augmenting the quality of higher education in India. 

Dr Tej Partap, president AIU & Vice-Chancellor, G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pantnagar and Prof Ajay Kumar Singh, Vice Chancellor, Sri Sri University also spoke. Dr S Ramadevi Pani delivered vote of thanks.