About the meeting

This meeting of the HUC India Country Chapter will put forth nominations for the HUC Steering Committee Member representing India, to be endorsed by the Steering Committee and General Assembly.

Objectives 

The proposed action points for these meetings are:

• Reconvene under the leadership of Prof Dr Kamal Kishore Pant, Director of IIT-Roorkee, the HUC India Country Chapter to appraise vice chancellors of HUC members and VCs of potential members of the progress of the HUC community in India.
• Members of the HUC India Country Chapter will deliberate on the sustainability pathways for the Consortium and chart out the way forward in fostering collaborations amongst HUC members in the country and with HUC members in the HKH region.

Background 

The Himalayan University Consortium (HUC) is a network of almost 90 member universities and higher education institutions in the eight Hindu Kush Himalaya countries – Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, Myanmar, Nepal, and Pakistan – and other parts of the world. The HUC fosters regional and global cooperation in research and education of and for fair, inclusive, and sustainable development in the HKH mountains and adjunct areas. The network engages top-notch professional women and men capable of undertaking high-quality research, education, teaching, and dissemination of mountain-focused, HKH-specific knowledge. The Consortium’s elected ten-member Steering Committee and the Secretariat provide coordination in network building, partnership strengthening, resource sharing, and resource mobilisation activities. The Secretariat is hosted by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD, Kathmandu).

The process to establish the HUC Country Chapter in India

Since 2016, HUC members in India have tripled in number. In October 2016, the G B Pant National Institute of Himalayan Environment and Sustainable Development (GBPNIHESD) co-hosted an International Conference, in conjunction with the Annual Meeting of the HUC General Assembly at the Indian Science National Academy, gathering 25 Vice Chancellors/Rectors and 20 senior representatives of members from five Hindu Kush Himalaya countries and other regions. In 2018, five (Pro-) Vice Chancellors/Directors of India’s HUC members met at TERI School of Advanced Studies to deliberate on the need for a country chapter of the Consortium to coordinate members and mobilise resources for inter-university collaboration in and for India’s Himalayan Region (IHR). In 2018, a group of senior representatives visited the University Grants Commission (UGC) and met Dr D P Singh, Honourable Chairperson, drawing his attention to the importance of collaboration among IHR universities. At the High-Level Meeting of UGC/Higher Education Commission/National Education Planning Commission chairpersons, in conjunction with the HUC Annual Meeting in Kathmandu, in October 2018, Dr D P Singh, Honourable Chairperson of UGC India offered a strong endorsement for the HUC Country Chapter in India and confirmed UGC’s support for mountain-focused, Himalayan-specific research and training and regional collaboration in UGC grant-making policy. In 2020, 13 Vice Chancellors of Central Universities in 13 Himalayan States and Territories met under the auspices of NITI Aayog and arrived at a consensus on the importance of building an effective alliance for higher education for sustainable Himalayas. 

Agenda

Tuesday, 26 September 2023 

All timings are in India Standard Time (IST). 

Wednesday, 27 September 2023