Hummingbird News Desk
CHENNAI, 16 AUG: In a unique effort, the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Madras has launched a Centre for Indian Knowledge Systems. The initiative has been taken under the leadership of institute’s Humanities and Social Sciences departments. It was inaugurated by Dr. Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, President, Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR), New Delhi and Shri Kumar Tuhin, Director General, Indian Council of Cultural Relations, New Delhi.
According to the institute’s spokesperson, the Centre will focus on four thematic areas such as Mathematics and Astronomy in India, Architectural Engineering, Vāstu and Śilpa-śāstra, Indian Political and Economic Thought and Indian Aesthetics and Grammatical Traditions.
While addressing the inaugural event on Saturday, Dr. Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, President, Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR), emphasized the need for a deeper study of India’s contribution to the world in the fields of science, technology, architecture, linguistics, arts, culture, economics, and politics, among other areas, and for disseminating the findings to the broader public.
Dr. Aditya Kolachana is the Principal Investigator of the Centre. The other faculty members from IIT Madras in this Centre include Prof. Arun Menon, Prof. Manu Santhanam, Prof. Santosh Kumar Sahu, Prof. Sudarsan Padmanabhan, Prof. Rajesh Kumar, and Prof. Jyotirmaya Tripathy. The Centre is funded by the Indian Knowledge Systems Division of the Ministry of Education, Government of India.
Speaking during the occasion, Shri Kumar Tuhin, Director General, ICCR, discussed the importance of collaboration between CIKS, IIT Madras and ICCR for creating an awareness among international audience regarding India’s rich heritage and culture.
Shri Kumar Tuhin and Prof. Raghunathan Rengaswamy signed a MoU to formalise collaboration between ICCR and IIT Madras.
Prof. Raghunathan Rengaswamy, Dean (Global Engagement), IIT Madras, exhorted the Centre to conduct quality research in Indian Knowledge Systems. He also spoke about the role of the Centre to create a conducive environment for foreign students to study in India and in the internationalization of Indian campuses.
Tags: #IITMadras #CentreForIndianKnowledgeSystems #ICCR #MoU
