The Bill was unanimously passed by the Lok Sabha recently. It has granted INI status to the two institutes of National Institute of Food Technology Entrepreneurship and Management (NIFTEM), Kundali (Haryana) as well as Indian Institute of Food Processing Technology (IIFPT), Thanjavur (Tamil Nadu) under the Ministry of Food Processing Industries.
Speaking to
Education Times, C Anandharamakrishnan, director, Indian Institute of Food Processing Technology (IIFPT), says that INI status will make the institute prominent and develop skilled personnel. “This status will help build a brand value for the institute and will positively impact recruitment, attract best faculties and students from across India and abroad.”
Anandharamakrishnan adds, “The institute will have freedom in terms of updating syllabi as per changing needs of the industry and expedite identification of industry’s requirements by students and taking up challenging problems for final year project work.”
The INI status will also help increase scholarships and exchange programmes with various international organisations and institutions, he adds.
Significance of autonomy
Institutions with INI status also enjoy an extra degree of autonomy; get the benefit of certain government schemes, including scholarships that are applicable to only such institutes. “With autonomy to change syllabus as per industry requirements, the Institute can offer skill development programmes to cater to food processing industries,” says the IIFPT director.
“More R&D grants that increase foreign collaborations will be beneficial in addressing the challenges faced by various countries in food processing and preservations, and provide solutions applicable to partner and home countries,” explains Anandharamakrishnan.
“To nurture entrepreneurship management and innovation among students and stakeholders in all facets of food processing by helping startups in their initial development, designing solutions tailored to national and international issues for the existing industries, and thus catalysing the growth of the food processing sector are among few other benefits of being an INI institute,” he highlights.
Global collaboration and research options
Functional autonomy will speed up the processes involved in foreign collaborations. “INI brand value will attract universities/institutions with top world rankings to collaborate for research, consultancy and academics. Exchange of students and faculty members with collaborative institutes, which will expose the students and faculty members to update the trends and developments progressing in other countries in the field of food processing,” he adds.
More visibility
INI status will also attract foreign students to pursue academics and research, while global scientists and professors will share knowledge and experience through workshops and seminars. “Taking up research projects with international organisations such as United Nation Organizations – WFP (World Food Programme), World Health Organization, and Food and Agriculture Organization, provides more visibility,” he adds.
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