JAMMU: The Office of the Dean Research Studies at Cluster University of Jammu organized a one-day workshop in hybrid mode on the theme “Guidelines for the Fourth-Year UG Programme: Academic Excellence, Research Integrity and Innovation.”
The objective of the workshop was to provide orientation and capacity building for the Principals of Higher Education Institutions, faculty members, staff, and students in accordance with the Four-Year Research Dissertation Programme at the undergraduate level as envisaged under the National Education Policy 2020 (NEP 2020). Cluster University of Jammu has introduced the Four-Year Research Programme for the academic session 2022–2026.
The key focus of the workshop was to emphasize holistic, multidisciplinary, and experiential learning aimed at promoting advanced studies, professional careers, and meaningful societal contributions by students through research at the undergraduate level.
The workshop was organized under the leadership of Vice Chancellor K. S. Chandersekhar, who also graced the occasion as the Chief Guest. In his interactive lecture, he provided valuable insights into the implementation of research at the undergraduate level and highlighted how it can bring significant academic and societal transformation. He also assured all possible support from the University for the successful implementation of the programme.
The Guest of Honour on the occasion was Sheikh Ajaz Bashir, Director Colleges, Higher Education Department. In his address, he congratulated the Office of the Dean Research Studies, Cluster University of Jammu, for taking the initiative to formulate guidelines for undergraduate research and for organizing the workshop aimed at capacity building of stakeholders and target groups.
Dean Research Studies Satinder Kaur, in her welcome address and keynote speech, thanked the Vice Chancellor and the Director Colleges for their support and guidance in framing the guidelines and facilitating their implementation. In her keynote address, she elaborately discussed the eligibility criteria, research supervision, dissertation format, composition of various committees at the institutional level, research monitoring, ethics, and integrity.
The resource persons included J. N. Baliya from the Central University of Jammu, who spoke on “Optimizing Research Mentorship at Higher Education Institutions in Social Sciences.” R. K. Sharma from the Department of Chemistry at the University of Delhi delivered a talk on “Integrating Research and Research Ethics in Undergraduate Education.” Vandana Sharma, Dean, School of Languages at the Central University of Jammu, spoke on “Research in Literary Studies: Approaches and Methods.”
The workshop was attended by more than 300 participants from different institutions, and the sessions were marked by healthy and interactive discussions. The Principal of the host college, Kulvinder Kour, personally supervised the programme.
Among others present were members of the advisory committee, including Ankur Mahajan, Registrar; all Deans and the FA/CAO; members of the organizing committee; and Principals of constituent colleges including Kulvinder Kour, GCW Gandhi Nagar; Sunil Gupta, SPMR College of Commerce; Romesh Kumar Gupta, GGM Science College; Archana Koul, MAM College; and Jyoti Parihar, GCOE Jammu.
The proceedings were coordinated by Avtar Changotra, Assistant Dean Research Studies. The workshop was also coordinated by Amjad Bhatti (Technical In-charge) along with Paramjeet Singh, Sandeep Sharma, Roomi Rani, Shally Gupta, Sushma Bala, Pankaj Gupta, Ankush Badyal, Paras, Jyoti Sharma, and Manohar Lal of Cluster University of Jammu.
The workshop concluded with a vote of thanks delivered by Vijender Kumar, Associate Professor, GCW Gandhi Nagar, Jammu.
