Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu on Monday called upon universities in the Northeast to move beyond conventional degree-based education and become “problem-solving institutions” capable of addressing the region’s developmental, social, environmental and strategic challenges.
Addressing the inaugural session of a two-day Roundtable of Vice-Chancellors of North-East Universities at the Rashtriya Raksha University campus in Pasighat, East Siang district, Khandu said the first such regional roundtable should result in concrete partnerships, actionable ideas and measurable outcomes.
He said universities in a young and aspirational state like Arunachal Pradesh must prepare students not only for employment but also for entrepreneurship, innovation, research and public service.
Khandu said higher education institutions should respond to issues such as border-area development, tribal communities, biodiversity, climate change, cultural preservation, rural livelihoods, tourism, connectivity and national security.
He called for universities to function as laboratories where local challenges are converted into research questions and research findings into practical solutions.
The Chief Minister also stressed the need for stronger partnerships among universities, government departments, industry, defence and security establishments, local communities and civil society.
He identified sustainable agriculture, bamboo and cane, handloom and handicrafts, disaster management, eco-tourism, renewable energy, indigenous knowledge and public health as areas requiring greater research attention.
Khandu also called for wider adoption of artificial intelligence and digital technologies in higher education. He proposed AI-enabled systems for personalised learning, student assessment, research assistance, language technologies and administrative efficiency.
In Arunachal Pradesh, he said, AI could support remote education, multilingual learning, disaster prediction, biodiversity monitoring and healthcare delivery.
The Chief Minister further proposed the creation of joint digital repositories covering indigenous knowledge, languages, oral traditions, traditional medicine, crafts and ecological practices, with appropriate safeguards and community ownership.
He also called for universities to share laboratories, datasets, digital infrastructure and expertise to strengthen research capabilities across the region.
Highlighting the importance of global academic collaboration, Khandu urged universities to expand partnerships with international institutions, particularly in climate science, biodiversity, Himalayan and tribal studies, disaster management, border studies and sustainable development.
He also suggested greater academic cooperation with institutions in South and Southeast Asia in line with the Act East policy.
On entrepreneurship, Khandu said universities should become incubators of ideas rather than merely prepare students for conventional government jobs. He suggested linking innovation and incubation programmes with mentorship, seed funding, intellectual property support and market access, particularly in tourism, agri-business, food processing, bamboo, handicrafts, clean energy and digital services.
Referring to the Rashtriya Raksha University campus at Pasighat, he said it presented an opportunity to develop a regional centre for national security education and research. Potential areas of cooperation include border management, cyber security, drone technology, disaster response, forensic science, community policing and strategic studies.
Khandu proposed a Northeast Higher Education Consortium to facilitate joint research, faculty exchange, student mobility, shared laboratories and common digital resources.
He also urged vice-chancellors to prepare time-bound transformation roadmaps with measurable indicators covering teaching, research, innovation, employability, international collaboration and community engagement.
To ensure that the discussions lead to implementation, he suggested that every technical session identify one major challenge, three practical interventions, one lead institution and a clear timeline for implementation.
Khandu also proposed making the Vice-Chancellors’ Roundtable an annual exercise to ensure continuity and follow-up.
The Chief Minister reiterated the state government’s commitment to working with Rashtriya Raksha University, the Association of Indian Universities and universities across the Northeast to strengthen education, research, capacity building and community development.
The roundtable, themed “Transforming Higher Education: Innovations, Collaborations and Strategies for a Future-Ready India”, brings together vice-chancellors, academicians, experts and representatives of the Association of Indian Universities and Rashtriya Raksha University.
-PTI
