Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Kashmir held a meeting to review the progress of the World Bank-ICAR funded National Agricultural Higher Education Project (NAHEP) awarded for the institutional development of the university in 2019.
A statement of SKUAST-K issued here said that the meeting was chaired by Vice Chancellor, SKUAST-K Prof J P Sharma.
It said that this was the first meeting to assess the progress of the flagship project after Prof Sharma took charge as the VC of the university.
The statement said that the three-year project was aimed to develop SKUAST-K as a model agricultural higher education institution and build next-generation human capital to drive the knowledge-based and technology-driven agri-economy of Jammu and Kashmir and the country.
It said that with the help of the NAHEP, SKUAST-K aims to become a preferred destination of agri-education for creativity, innovation, entrepreneurship, besides the hardcore research and extension. The statement said that in his address, VC Prof Sharma said all the workshops and training programmes conducted under the NAHEP should train students and help farmers in enterprise building, provide the linkages with the industry and handhold them through the various processes required for starting up.
It quoted Prof Sharma as saying that the university under the NAHEP had a particular focus on the skill-building of the students to make them innovators, entrepreneurs, and job-ready for the new-age industries, the upcoming innovation, incubation and entrepreneurship centre, and artificial intelligence centre at the university should be the state-of-the-art facilities not available elsewhere in Jammu and Kashmir.
The statement said that lauding the PI NAHEP and other team members of the project for their marvellous work despite facing several roadblocks, he hoped that the university would achieve all the milestones set under the project.
It said that SKUAST-K’s Director Planning and Monitoring and Principal Investigator of NAHEP, Prof Nazir Ahmad Ganai gave a detailed overview of the project.