Himachal Pradesh has yet covered another mile-stone in the field of Education by connecting its premier educational institutions including Medical Colleges, IIT Mandi, all the Universities in the State and NIT, with ultra high speed National Knowledge Network (NKN) facility enabling students to work closely, access and listen to the lectures from any of the listed reputed educational Institutions in the country.
National Knowledge Network is a pan-India interconnected network and serves as a backbone for all knowledge related institutions in the country. The purpose of such a knowledge network goes to the very core of the country’s quest for building quality institutions with requisite research facilities and creating a pool of highly trained professionals. The NKN will enable scientists, researchers and students from different backgrounds and diverse geographies to work closely for advancing human development in critical and emerging areas.
Himachal entered in this arena, when Prof. Prem Kumar Dhumal, Chief Minister, yesterday launched NKN through video-conferencing organized by State National Informatics Centre (NIC) at Una, with the aim of connecting educational institution on-line with other reputed world class Institutions in the country. The Students, through virtual classes (like sort of smart class), would be able to listen to the lectures of any institution listed in NKN, while sitting in the classrooms in their institutions.
The other luminaries who joined the inaugural ceremony through video-conferencing were Dr. R Chidambram, Principal Scientific Advisor to Government of India (GoI) and Chairman, High Level Committee, NKN, Prof. S.P.Raghvan, Secretary, Scientific Technology, GoI, Dr. B.K. Gairola, Director General NIC.
Himachal Pradesh has been added to the list of more than 710 International Class educational Institutions of the country, and the research scholars, professionals, scientists, students can have access to the lectures delivered in listed institutions.
Prof Dhumal said that IIT Mandi had emerged as one of the best teaching resources for utilising NKN and setting up Virtual Class Rooms and the Students at Roorkee were attending the lectures delivered at IIT Mandi. This was a complete technology revolution.
He said that advanced information technology had emerged as the need of the hour. The NKN would play a vital role in equipping students with best of the learning skills besides providing countrywide access to the researchers, scientists and academician’s with top learning institutes and the libraries thereupon. He said that henceforth, instead of consulting books, relevant information would be available to the researchers and students on the internet through NKN.
He said that the NKN connectivity would also be extended to State Government Network, HIMSWAN, which would not only save the expenditure currently being incurred on internet access by the State but also provide a reliable medium of e- governance.
The launch was simultaneously attended by Chief Secretary, Harindar Hira, Ajay Mittal, Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister Dr. Saurabh Gupta, State Informatics Officer and other officers of the State Government at Central Potato Research Institute (CPRI), Shimla, through video-conferencing.
The basic objective of NKN was building quality institutions with requisite research facilities and creating a pool of highly trained professionals.
Dr. Sourabh Gupta, Director, NIC Himachal Pradesh, welcomed the Chief Minister, other dignitaries through VC and detailed of the facilities to be made available to the students and government offices through NKN in the State. P.C.Dhiman, Principal Secretary IT & Home, Government of Himachal Pradesh proposed vote of Thanks.
