Odisha Govt Inks Pact With BCKIC Foundation For Upgradation Of Science & Tech Infra

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has signed an MoU with Bhubaneswar City Knowledge Innovation Cluster (BCKIC) Foundation for upgradation of scientific, technological and innovation infrastructure by undertaking joint collaborations.

The MoU was signed between the Science and Technology department and BCKIC Foundation on Wednesday. Science and Technology Minister Ashok Chandra Panda, who was present, emphasised the need for organisation, coordination and promotion of science and technology activities in the State.

This initiative will help accomplish the ‘Science to Society vision’ of the department in strengthening the scientific capability of the state and the department will be encouraged to enrich science education, research, innovation and communication in the state, Panda said.

The minister also stressed the need for proper development of Bio-technology sector in the state.

As per the MoU, BCKIC will be an implementation partner for executing some of the initiatives of the department, such as formulation of science, technology and innovation policy of the state, promotion of innovation and IP culture and technology transfer activities in the state.

Both the department and BCKIC will work together with the objectives of promoting networking knowledge sharing to create impact of sciene and technology, mainly in education, health, hygiene and sanitation, communication and environment.

Emphasis will be on training and capacity building, industry-academia collaborative activities, while setting up of innovation hubs and experiential learning labs at the school level to build scientific temperament will get priority.

Suresh Kumar Vashishth, Principal Secretary, Science and Technology department, said strengthening the science and technology eco-system by increasing interaction of the academic and research institutions of the State with each other as well as with external stake holders, such as industry, philanthropic organisations and entrepreneurs.

The ecosystem will target identifying the areas of potential collaborations and cooperation, he added.