23 Jun 2025|Noida | Amity University, Noida
Hon’ble Vice President of India, Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar inaugurates ‘National Conference of Vice Chancellors’, organized by Association of Indian Universities (AIU), at Amity
Hon’ble Vice President of India, Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar inaugurated the ‘National Conference of Vice Chancellors’, organized by Association of Indian Universities (AIU), at Amity University Noida campus, from 23rd-24th June 2025, on the theme, “Envisioning Future Higher Education: The Pivotal Role of India”, marking 100 years of AIU’s establishment.
Inaugurating the Conference, Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar Vice President of India, averred, “I feel like a student standing in front of the Vice Chancellors and academicians today. Amity University is a great institution which has achieved global recognition. I extend my heartiest congratulations to AIU for completing 99years of its existence. It is a great day in the history of our nation since it is Dr. Shyama Prasad Mukherjee’s “Balidan Diwas” today, one of the finest sons of the soil who gave the slogan — Ek Vidhaan, Ek Nishaan and Ek Pradhaan, during the campaign in the state of Jammu and Kashmir in 1952. He further added, “We suffered from Article 370 for too long. It bled us and the state of Jammu and Kashmir. Article 370 and the draconian Article 35A deprived people of their basic human rights and fundamental rights. We have a visionary Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and a Home Minister, Shri Amit Shah. Article 370 does not exist now in our Constitution. It was abrogated on 5th August 2019, and the legal challenge to the Supreme Court failed on 11 December 2023.”
Highlighting the National Education Policy, Shri Dhankhar said, “The National Education Policy has really changed the landscape of our education. I was associated with the ‘National Education Policy 2020, as Governor, State of West Bengal. Some major inputs, in the hands of thousands, were taken into consideration for the evolution of this policy, which resonates with our civilizational spirit, essence, and ethos. I firmly believe that education is a great equalizer and it brings about equality as no other mechanism does, education decimates inequities and gives life to democracy.”
Congratulating the Government of Uttar Pradesh, he stated, “My congratulations to the Government of Uttar Pradesh and the Chief Minister who have taken great initiatives by giving IT ‘Industry Status’, which has a huge consequence for positive development. Another aspect for which UP is getting increasingly recognized is at the school education level, the transparency and accountability in administration is becoming a hallmark. India has emerged as a land of opportunity, entrepreneurship, startups, innovation, and unicorns. In every parameter where growth and development can be gauged, we are rising.”
Emphasizing upon the role of universities, Shri Dhankhar emphasized, “Our universities are not meant to just hand out degrees, the degrees must carry great weightage. Universities must be sanctuaries of ideas and ideation, crucibles of innovation. They have to catalyze big change and that responsibility lies on Vice-Chancellors in particular, and the academia in general. There must be space for disagreement, debate, dialogue and discussion, that is how the mind cells are activated. “Abhivyakti”, “Vaad Vivaad”, “Anant Vaad” are inalienable facets of our civilization, of our democracy.”
Highlighting India’s potential to lead in knowledge domain, he added, “We cannot remain perpetual students of Western innovation when our demographic dividend position says, as the world’s knowledge epicenter. When we look back at our ancient history, we are reminded of our rich past and Universities such as Nalanda and Taxila, wherein students from across the world came to study. It is time India must build world-class institutions, not just to teach, but to pioneer.”
Concluding his address with a call to establish leadership in emerging domains, the Vice-President asserted, “Establish institutions of uncompromising excellence in emerging domains such as artificial intelligence, climate change, climate technology, quantum science, digital ethics, when Bharat leads, others will follow. Education is not just merely for public good; it is our most strategic national asset. Impossible choices define our character and strength, and we must not take the easy route. Taking the easy path is getting into mediocrity, irrelevance and insignificance. Universities are crucibles for generating such choices as they prepare minds and people to be intrepid to go in for impossible choices.”
Addressing the gathering, Dr. Ashok. K. Chauhan, Founder President, Amity Education Group, said, “I express my heartfelt gratitude to Hon’ble Vice President Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar for taking out time from his extremely busy schedule and gracing the Inaugural Session of the Conference. Amity University is honoured to host the National Conference of Vice Chancellors organized by Association of Indian Universities. The Conference will lead to meaningful outcomes which will transform the future of higher education in India.”
Prof. Vinay Kumar Pathak, President, Association of Indian Universities (AIU), averred, “The education budget has more than doubled since 2014, rising from 68,700 crores to close to 1.48 lakh crore. The National Education Policy 2020 stands as a turning point, promoting multi-disciplinary learning, global engagement and rootedness in Bhartiya Knowledge System. The education landscape of India has seen tremendous transformation. With 23 IITs and 20 IIMs today in the country and around 1,200 Universities, the education industry has witnessed a growth of 60% in just a decade. Patent Applications have more than doubled and India is emerging as a great hub for research and innovation.”
Hon’ble Vice President, Shri Dhankhar planted a sapling under the initiative, “Ek Ped Maa Ke Naam” at Amity University. Also present during the Inaugural Session were Shri Sunil Kumar Sharma, Minister for IT and Electronics, Government of Uttar, Dr. (Mrs.) Pankaj Mittal, Secretary General, AIU, Vice Chancellors of various Universities, and other dignitaries. A Special Address by Dr. Sudhanshu Trivedi, Member of Rajya Sabha on the topic, ‘Promoting Nationalism in HEIs’, was also held.
The National Conference of Vice Chancellors is being attended by over 500 Vice Chancellors across India in physical and virtual mode, along with officials from various Government of India ministries, and representatives from apex bodies such as AICTE, NAAC, NDSC, ICAR, amongst others. The conference will foster and enhance collaboration among HEIs, leading to the establishment of strategic partnerships and networks including actionable recommendations, formulated to guide policy reforms ensuring that Indian higher education system remains relevant, resilient and globally competitive. A University Action Plan will be prepared based on the actionable recommendations, which will be sent to Governors of all the states, Ministries and apex bodies of higher education i.e., UGC, AICTE, NCTE, etc., for taking necessary action.
During the two-day Conference, 2 Plenary Sessions will be held on themes including “Globalization and Internationalization” and “Envisioning Future Higher Education: The Pivotal Role of India”. In addition, 10 Parallel Tracks will be held on various themes such as “Integrating Emerging Technologies like AI”, “Virtual and Augmented Reality in the Learning Process”, “Cyber Security and Data Privacy in the Higher Education”, “Innovative Assessment Methods and Experiential Learning”, “Creating Green and Sustainable Campuses” and many others.