Two-Day National Seminar on Biotechnology

Antibiotics, which played a huge role in combating the Covid-19 virus that killed more than 5.3 lakh people in India, should be viewed as a kind of national security, an expert in the field of biotechnology said on Monday.

There was a need for development in this field for which the cooperation of the society at large was needed, Prof. N. Tajuddin, Pro-Vice Chancellor of B.S. Abdur Rehman Crescent Institute of Science and Technology, a Deemed to be University at Chennai, said while addressing the inaugural program of the two-day national seminar on ‘Research and Innovations in Industrial and Marine Biotechnology: A Circular Economy’ at the Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan (SOA) here.

Pointing out that environmental pollution and malnutrition had emerged as huge problems for the world, Prof. Tajuddin said biotechnology had a huge role to play in mitigating these problems.

Sponsored by the Department of Science and Technology’s Science and Engineering Research Board (DST-SERB), the seminar is being organised by SOA’s Centre for Industrial Biotechnology Research (CIBR) in collaboration with National Research Development Corporation (NRDC) and Biotechnology Research Society of India (BRSI), Thiruvananthapuram.

The seminar, being attended by researchers, industry experts and policy makers, aimed to foster discussions on innovative biotechnological solutions which align with circular economy principles. “The subject of the seminar is very important in the present scenario as industrial and marine biotechnology are poised to play critical roles in addressing contemporary global challenges such as resource scarcity, environmental degradation and climate change,” Prof. Hrudaynath Thatoi, Director of CIBR, said.

Addressing the program, Prof. Pravat Kumar Roul, Vice-Chancellor of Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT), said that biotechnology was the tool which could help in development of agriculture. “Biotechnology is the future of technology,” he said adding there were 6000 start ups, 760 companies and 800 products in the field of biotechnology.

Prof. Pradipta Kumar Nanda, Vice-Chancellor of SOA, who presided over the session, said SOA was focusing on biotechnology and was in the process of organising an international conference on the subject in November next year.

SOA had been laying a lot of thrust on research and had set up 19 research centres including CIBR till now, he said.

The program was also addressed by Dr. Anindita Chakraborty, Scientist, UGC-DAE CSR, Kolkata Center who opined that science had no existence without biotechnology.

Dr. Sibani Mohapatra and Dr. Amrita Banerjee also addressed the program which was conducted by Dr. Sasmita Mohanty.

Rise Conclave

Springer Nature, the global publisher which provides content, services and platforms to the research community, on Tuesday launched its Research Integrity in Science and Education (RISE) initiative as part of the RISE Conclave at the Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan Deemed to be University (SOA) here with Odisha’s Deputy Chief Minister Ms. Pravati Parida saying the endeavour would create a conducive ecosystem for research in higher education.

This pan India research integrity focused on accessibility, empowerment, advocacy and cultural shift to enhance best research practices in Indian research communities. This event will be followed by RISE road shows comprising workshops, knowledge sessions and learning courses for researchers across India as part of Springer Nature’s India Research Tour 2024 next month.

Ms. Parida said the conclave was not an academic event but opened the door for dialogue, collaboration and innovation while upholding the concept of ethical excellence in research.

“Such endeavours are of great importance as the objectives align with India’s National Education Policy 2020,” she said adding the need today was for academicians and researchers to think innovatively and look for sustainable solutions to address various issues facing the country.

The conclave, attended by researchers and educationists from across the country, was organised by Springer Nature in collaboration with Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR), Ministry of Education and SOA.

The inaugural session was also addressed by Prof. T.G. Sitharam, Chairman of All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), Mr. Steven Inchcoombe, President, Research, Springer Nature Group, Prof. Sudhir Kumar V. Barai, Director, BITS, Pilani, Prof. Dhananjay Singh, Member Secretary, ICSSR, Prof. Pradipta Kumar Nanda, Vice-Chancellor, SOA, Mr. Venkatesh Sarvasiddhi, Managing Director, Springer Nature India, Prof. Prasanta Kumar Panigrahi, Director, SOA’s Center for Quantum Science and Technology and Prof. Manas Kumar Mallick, Director, Institute of Technical Education and Research (ITER).

Ms. Parida, who holds the portfolios of Women and Child Development, Mission Shakti and Tourism, congratulated SOA for collaborating with Springer Nature to hold the event while describing it as one of the highest ranked universities in eastern India. “SOA has been blazing a trail in the field of professional education and healthcare in the state,” she said.

Ms. Parida said her daughter, who studied engineering in SOA, could get admission into the famous Stony Brook University in New York. She also praised SOA Founder President Prof. (Dr.) Manojranjan Nayak for his visionary initiatives in the field of higher education and research.

She launched Springer Nature’s landing page and India Research Tour 2024 which will commence at New Delhi and pass through ten states and 16 cities and have events in 28 eminent institutions during the months of September and October.

Union education minister Mr. Dharmendra Pradhan, in a message which was read out, said this event was a strategic initiative by Springer Nature which aimed to revolutionise the research landscape of India.

Mr. Pradhan said the RISE Conclave’s objective was not only to empower the researchers with the tools and knowledge they needed but also about democratizing access to resources which promoted transparency and accountability in research. “Through this conclave, we are endeavouring to lay the foundation for a credible research ecosystem that is globally competitive, ethically sound and committed to the highest standards of integrity,” he said.

The India Research Tour, which will commence on September 19 next, will visit various universities and institutes across the country providing a unique opportunity for young researchers to engage in in-depth discussion about research integrity, publishing opportunities, global dissemination of their work and latest trends in research publishing, Mr. Pradhan said.

The event also witnessed MoU exchange for Springer Nature’s Cureus Journal of Medical Sciences with SOA as also an agreement for the Fully Open Access Journals.

Earlier, Dr. Yatendra Singh Chaudhary, Senior Principal Scientist at CSIR-IMMT, Bhubaneswar, which hosted the RISE Conclave last year, handed over the baton to SOA Vice-Chancellor Prof. Nanda. Prof. Nanda, in turn, handed it over to the ICSSR Member Secretary as it would be part of the India Research Tour.

 Prof. Sitharam said the event underlined the importance of integrity in scientific research while saying that the India Research Tour would be a very important activity.

Today the advent of new technology and tools like Artificial Intelligence and ChatGPT has changed the entire educational and research scenario but the need was to use such tools responsibly. “We have to embrace new technology and tools otherwise we will lag behind others. But we need to establish clear ethical guidelines,” Prof. Sitharam said.

“We have got to pursue values and ethical standards like research ethics, try and prevent plagiarism and promote research with integrity,” he said.

 Mr. Inchcoombe said Springer Nature, as guardians of the academic record, was absolutely dedicated to ensure the integrity of the content it published not only by rigourously assessing the research received by it but also by supporting best practices from the beginning of the research process.

 “RISE is a strategic initiative aimed at strengthening India’s research landscape by nurturing talent, making research more open and transparent, and improving its quality. It ensures that Indian researchers have free access to vital resources and training materials on research integrity, promoting transparency and accountability,” he said.

Mr. Inchcoombe said that as regards scientific research output India stood third in the world behind China and USA. But research has to be ethical and integrity should be upheld, he said.

Mr. Singh said the ICSSR was fully committed to build research integrity in the country and it had collaboration for social science research.

Pointing out that funding for social science research in India had doubled, he said the work being done by women researchers was being encouraged.

Mr. Sarvasiddhi said Springer Nature was aiming to encourage educational institutions and policymakers to integrate mandatory research integrity training into curricula thereby setting a strong foundation to conduct ethical research in India. “Our collaboration with SOA University reflects our shared vision of making science more open, accessible and impactful,” he said.

SOA Vice-Chancellor Prof. Nanda said the RISE initiative and the Fully Open Access Agreement aligned with the university’s mission to promote excellence in research.

Six women researchers of SOA were felicitated on the occasion for their work. The researchers are Prof. Sanghamitra Nayak, Head of Centre of Biotechnology, Prof. (Dr.) Ruchi Bhuyan Goel, Director, Medical Research, Prof. Renu Sharma, Professor in Department of Electrical Engineering, Prof. Sujata Mishra, Head of Department of Chemistry, Prof. Niharbala Devi, Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Prof. Debahuti Mishra, Head of Department of Computer Science Engineering. Besides, Prof. (Dr.) Sanghamitra Mishra, Dean of Institute of Medical Sciences and SUM Hospital, Dr. D.B. Ramesh, Chief Librarian and Dr. Satish Samal, Assistant Professor, were also felicitated.

Prof. Renu Sharma, Additional Dean (Student Affairs), ITER, delivered the welcome address while Prof. Jyoti Ranjan Das, Dean (Students’ Welfare) proposed the vote of thanks.