Kozhikode: The National Institute of Technology, Calicut, has inked a memorandum of understanding with the Indian Council for Agriculture Research (ICAR) and the Indian Institute of Spices Research (IISR) to promote research and education in the agriculture sector. The MoU will promote collaboration between the two premier institutions located in Kozhikode district.
The MoU was signed by Prof Prasad Krishna, Director of NIT Calicut, and Dr R Dinesh, Director of ICAR-IISR. The collaboration aims at joint educational, training, and research activities. The initiative is to ensure mutual benefit by exchanging knowledge of technological domains and agricultural domains.
The MoU between two institutions located close to each other will have many advantages, said Prof Prasad Krishna, Director of NIT Calicut. Proper interaction, exchange programmes and campus visits will help both partners understand the real problems and identify solutions, he added.
The MoU also stresses the need for the exchange of invitations to scholars, including faculty, research personnel, and graduate students, for lectures, campus visits, etc. The sharing of domain expertise for the mutual benefit of research initiatives is also planned as part of the collaboration.
The collaboration is expected to help us focus on modernised research activities, setting aside traditional research, said Dr R Dinesh. He also urged the significance of collaboration in fostering mentorship in entrepreneurship and research in the spice sector.
The two institutions will now exchange scholars for participation in conferences, symposiums, and seminars. Besides, the exchange of information in fields of interest to both parties is expected to benefit the academia at NITC and the research fraternity at ICAR-IISR. Expert participation and practical training in pre-identified or selected field sites will also become a reality with the MoU.