Department of Information and Public Relations

Press Release No. 509/19

XXVI CONVOCATION OF NEHU

President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind today graced the 26th Convocation of North Eastern Hill University (NEHU) at the Convocation Hall, NEHU Campus, Shillong. The convocation was also attended by the Governor of Meghalaya, Shri Tathagata Roy as Guest of Honour, Chief Minister of Meghalaya, Shri Conrad K. Sangma as Special Guest, Vice Chancellor of NEHU, Professor S.K. Srivastava and a host of other dignitaries.

As one of the premiere institutes of the North Eastern Region, NEHU has transformed the lives of the youth of the region, said the Governor of Meghalaya, Shri Tathagata Roy while speaking as the Guest of Honour. The Governor said that as the Chief Rector of the university, he has had the opportunity to interact and deliberate with faculty members and students on various issues concerning the university to understand the challenges faced by the university in grooming the young minds in their pursuit towards a better future. The university needs to incorporate the diversity of the needs of the society and to be relevant to the corporate world, said the Governor and felt the need to review and restructure the curriculum to enable the students to explore different avenues that are emerging today.

Chief Minister, Shri Conrad K. Sangma in his address as Special Guest said that NEHU has been an educational hub to a lot of students of this region and the journey that NEHU has taken through the years has brought the difference to thousands of lives of the students who had the opportunity to study here. Education has been a big priority for us, and as a Government we will continue to focus on providing quality education right from primary level or at higher secondary level as well as higher and technical education, he said. If you look at what’s happening in the world today, the economy is changing, the world is changing and the kind of job opportunities that were there, maybe five years back, may not be there in the coming years, said the Chief Minister. The young minds need to think about these changes that are happening around and we as a Government feel that it is important to create opportunities for the young minds. The youth should take risks and try to do something that is going to transform humanity forever and that is a kind of challenge that I want to give each and every one of you today here, said the Chief Minister.

During the convocation, the President conferred the Degree of Doctor of Letters (Honoris Causa) to Shri Kanubhai Hasmukhbhai Tailor in recognition of his outstanding contributions in advancing the cause of voluntary humanitarian services towards “Divyang”.

The President also handed over the President of India Dr. Shankar Dayal Sharma Gold medal for the year 2019 to Ms.Taba Yehi, Department of Botany in recognition of her general proficiency, Srimati Sarada Krishna Iyer memorial Award to Ms. Pdianghun K. Warjri who secured highest marks in MA Political Science Examination held in the year 2019, U Tirot Sing Memorial Prize to Mr. Dicky Christopher R. Sangma of Mendipathar College who secured the highest marks in Political Science BA (Honours) Examinations in the year 2019, Professor M. K. Khare Memorial Prize to Ms. Mary Lalruatsangi for being the highest scorer in the MSc (Zoology) Examination for the year 2019, Rajendra Kumar Sunaheri Devi Jain Charitable Endowment Award to Ms. Neha Dutta who passed the BSc (Honours) Zoology Examination in the first class securing very high percentage of marks in the year 2019, Professor M. N. Karna Young Sociologist Prize to Ms. Bichano Lotha, Department of Sociology for being the highest scorer in the MA, (Sociology) Examination for the year 2019, Dr. D. S. Babu Memorial Award to Ms. Chinchanbeni N. Odyuo, Department of Education who secured highest marks in MA (Education) Examination held in 2019, U Kiang Nangbah Memorial Award for the year 2019 to Mr. Jordan Kharsyntiew, Department of Tourism & Hotel Management who has been adjudged on the basis of excellence and quality of rendering service to the people and Professor S. S. Khare Promising Mathematician Award to Ms. Diamond Kharkongor Department of Mathematics for being the highest scorer in the M.Sc. Mathematics Examination for the year 2019.

At the convocation, a total of 14502 candidates comprising of 136 PhD, 41 M.Phil. 1342 PG and 12983 Bachelor’s Degrees both in person and in absentia received their degrees.

Press Release No. 510/19

CHIEF MINISTER ATTENDS SUSTAINABLE MOUNTAIN DEVELOPMENT SUMMIT VIII

Chief Minister, Shri Conrad K Sangma, today attended the Sustainable Mountain Development Summit VIII held at NEC Auditorium, Nongrim Hills, Shillong as the Chief Guest. The Sustainable Mountain Development Summit VIII (SDMS-VIII) is being held from 4th Nov-6th Nov 2019.

Speaking to the gathering during the Inaugural Session of the summit Chief Minister, Shri Conrad K Sangma expressing gratitude to the Integrated Mountain Initiative (IMI), Integrated Mountain Development Initiative (MIMDI), Shillong and the other partners for organizing the summit in Meghalaya said that there is a need to convert the thought processes and policies into actions. “The world scenario is going to change in the next ten to fifteen years in two major areas that is in Technology where everything will revolve around Artificial Intelligence and the next major change will be Climate Change,” he said. He added that though these changes will bring along a lot of disruptions it will also create a lot of opportunities especially for entrepreneurs. The Chief Minister further said that there is a need to be ready for these changes and take advantage out of it. “It is platforms like these that enable us to take stock of the alarming changes and take measures for sustainable development and convert policy aspects into sustainable economic opportunities for entrepreneurs,” he said.

The Chief Minister also said that the entrepreneurs need support, recognition and appreciation and urged the entrepreneurs to be solution providers and not merely product providers and to continue with their entrepreneurship in the face of challenges that they will face. He also said that the government will in the next few months make the Meghalaya Secretariat Net Zero Waste area.

The SMDS-VIII builds on the outcomes of previous seven summits which focussed on issues such as climate change, forests, mountain agriculture and other livelihoods, water, disasters, sustainable cities and drivers of change which threaten the region’s ecological, social and economical well-being. The theme of SDMS VIII is ‘Sustainable Mountain Initiatives for Livelihoods and Entrepreneurship for Youth (SMILEY) with sub themes on Sustainable Agriculture to identify approaches and strategies including policy options for new age farming practices in view of climate and socio-economic changes, Sustainable Energy to promote specific renewable energy generations and energy efficiency enhancement through youth entrepreneurship, Sustainable Agri-business to encourage mountain youth to take up food processing and allied agri-business as sustainable entrepreneurship and Sustainable Tourism to promote sustainable tourism in the Indo Himalayan Region focusing on youth employment retaining socio-environmental-cultural heritage.

A special side event of SMDS VIII is Zero Waste which is a call for action for Sustainable Waste Management in the mountains. Zero Waste strives to reduce waste at source through rethinking and redesigning products so that nothing is sent to the landfill in the long run.