The University of Delhi has celebrated its 99th Foundation Day on 11th September 2021 at the Convention Hall of the University as it could not be celebrated on the designated day i.e. May 1, 2021 due to surge of pandemic during that time. The main focus of the celebration was to honour the Distinguished Alumni who have brought laurels to their alma mater by the excellence in their field as well as to felicitate the Awardees of the University who have made outstanding contribution to the University in their spheres of profession.

The Distinguished Alumni of the University who were honoured today were Shri Kiren Rijiju ji, Hon’ble Minister of Law and Justice, Hon’ble (Mr.) Justice Inderjeet Mohanty, Chief Justice of Rajasthan High Court, Shri P.K. Mishra, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister’s Office, Shri Amit Khare, Secretary, Higher Education, Ministry of Education, Shri Manoj Kumar, State Election Commissioner, Uttar Pradesh, Dr. Kiran Bedi, Former Lieutenant Governor, Puducherry and Shri Imtiaz Ali, renowned Film Maker.

Shri Amit Khare, Secretary, Higher Education, Ministry of Education and  Shri Imtiaz Ali, renowned Film Maker have graced the programme physically while Shri P.K. Mishra, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister’s Office, Shri Manoj Kumar, State Election Commissioner, Uttar Pradesh and Dr. Kiran Bedi, Former Lieutenant Governor, Puducherry graced it on virtual mode.

As many as twenty-nine, teaching and non-teaching, retired and in-service staff were conferred awards under different categories. The highest award of the University i.e. Nishtha Dhriti Satyam Samman was conferred upon Prof Jitendra P. Khurana and Prof Pami Dua for exemplary contribution to the development of the University and utmost adherence to its ideals, values and principles.

Prof. Balaram Pani, Dean of Colleges, Prof. Suman Kundu, Director South Campus, Prof. Kavita Sharma, Treasurer, Prof. Neeta Sehgal, Proctor, Dr. Vikas Gupta, Registrar, Prof. K. Ratnabali, Dean, Academic Activities and Projects, Distinguished Awardees, Deans of Faculties, other officials and staff attended the programme.

REGISTRAR

11th September, 2021

Distinguished Alumni of the University of Delhi who were honoured on the 99th Foundation Day 

1.      Shri Kiren Rijiju ji, Hon’ble Minister of Law and Justice,

2.      Hon’ble (Mr.) Justice Inderjeet Mohanty, Chief Justice of Rajasthan High Court,

3.      Shri P.K. Mishra, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister’s Office,

4.      Shri Amit Khare, Secretary, Higher Education, Ministry of Education,

5.      Shri Manoj Kumar, State Election Commissioner, Uttar Pradesh,

6.      Dr. Kiran Bedi, Former Lieutenant Governor, Puducherry and

7.      Shri Imtiaz Ali, renowned Film Maker.

FOUNDATION DAY AWARDS MAY 2021 For Teaching and non-Teaching Staff

Category I: Nishtha Dhritih Satyam Samman :
Prof. Jitendra P. Khurana, Department of Plant Molecular Biology
Prof. Pami Dua, Department of Economics
 

Category II: Distinguished Service Awards for Retired Teachers:
Prof. B. K. Thelma, Department of Genetics
 

Category III: Distinguished Service Awards for Retired Non-Teaching Staff:
Mr. Subrata Ghosh, Technical Assistant, Department of Biochemistry
Mr. Dulichand, Laboratory Assistant, Department of Anthropology
 

Category IVA(i): Excellence Awards for Teachers in Service in Departments/Institutes/ Centres - Age 45 years or below:
Dr. Vipin Gupta, Department of Anthropology
 

Category IVA(ii): Excellence Awards for Teachers in Service in Departments/Institutes/ Centres - Age above 45 years:
Prof. Debi P. Sarkar, Department of Biochemistry
Prof. M.N. Khan, Department of Arabic
Prof. Indranil Dasgupta, Department of Plant Molecular Biology
 

Category IVB(i): Excellence Awards for Teachers in Service in Colleges - Age 45 years or below:
Dr. Bishnu Mohan Dash, Department of Social Work, Dr. Bhim Rao Ambedkar College
Dr. Nilanjana Mukherjee, Department of English, Shaheed Bhagat Singh College
Dr. Indrakant K. Singh, Department of Zoology, Deshbandhu College
 

Category IVB(ii): Excellence Awards for Teachers in Service in Colleges - Age above 45 years:
Dr. Anita Kamra Verma, Department of Zoology, Kirori Mal College
Dr. P.C. Tulsian, Department of Commerce, Ramjas College
 

Category V(i): Best Website Award for Departments/Institutes/ Centres
Department of Mathematics
 

SPECIAL APPRECIATION AWARD for services to the University / academic achievements
 

Retired Teachers : Prof Rehana Khatoon, Department of Persian
Teachers in service : Prof. Neeta Sehgal, Department of Zoology; Prof. Pradeep Burma, Department of Genetics; Prof. D.S. Rawat, Department of Chemistry.
Retired Non-teaching Staff: Mr. T. Vengadesan, Joint Registrar
Non-teaching Staff in service: Ms. Meenakshi Sahay and Dr. Rohan Rai, Joint Registrar; Mr. Prashant Nagar, Assistant Registrar
Retired College Principal : Dr. Govind Ram Chopra, Bhaskaracharya College of Applied Sciences
College Principals in service: Prof. Geeta Trilok-Kumar, Institute of Home Economics; Prof. S.P. Aggarwal, Ramanujan College; Prof. Rama, Hansraj College
Appreciation for exemplary medical service during the pandemic: Dr. T. Chumbak and Dr S. Dugtal, WUS Health Centre, DU

99th Foundation Day Speech of the Hon’ble Vice Chancellor, University of Delhi

Salutations 

It gives me immense pleasure to address this august gathering which is studded with the distinguished alumni, awardees, distinguished invitees, Deans of faculties, teaching and non-teaching staff, students and media personnel who have joined the celebration of the 99th Foundation Day on the web. The Foundation day of the University falls on first of May. But due to surge in covid cases during that time, the celebration could not take place.  We have entered the centennial year and in its almost hundred years of existence, the University has built a legacy through the hard work and sweat of numerous generations.

The University started with a humble beginning of just three colleges namely St. Stephen’s College, Hindu college and Zakir Husan college. At present, it has as many as 91 colleges, 16 faculties, 20 centres and 86 departments. It caters to over 6.4 lakhs students, making it one of the biggest universities in India. The vast array of over 500 programs run by the University right from African Studies to Biomedical Sciences shows the impressive expanse of knowledge creation and dissemination. 

The University has sustained the highest global standards and best practices in higher education. Its long-term commitment to nation building and unflinching adherence to human values are reflected in its Motto - Nishtha Dhriti Satyam'.

I am happy to share with you that the university is the front-runner University in the country, as indicated by the national and international rankings. It secured 12th position among the University category in the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) 2021. The University secured 6th position in the National Rank as per the Centre for World University Rankings (CWUR) 2021-2022. The University of Delhi has been ranked as 501-510 in the QS World University Rankings 2022. The University of Delhi has been ranked as 801-1000 in the Times Higher Education (THE) World University Rankings 2022, 201-250 in THE Asia University Rankings 2021, and 182th in THE Emerging Economies University Rankings 2021.

The University has been consistently working towards improving its learning, teaching and research. Its strong commitment to excellence in research is evident from publications in the high-ranking peer-reviewed international Journals, high H-index that stands at 221 (as per Scopus database), and a total number of 4733 publications (2019-2020), which is the best among universities in India.

In order to provide impetus to research, the University has revived giving of research grants to teachers. As many as 250 applications were received for the Institute of Eminence research grants and about 165 research proposals have been sanctioned for a total grant of about 5.5 crores. Such initiative is expected to motivate and increase research activities in the University which shall further be in the interest of the nation as well as raising further the h-index of the University

The University has shown its resilience and ability to adapt and convert a challenging situation to an opportunity even during the pandemic. Traditional classrooms, where teaching and learning transacted, have been completely replaced by online platforms, overcoming the barriers of space. Students were provided reading materials through online platforms.

Internal assessments and examinations were conducted online for the first time. Conducting the online examinations (OBE) for the first time for lakhs of students and for very many courses was not only a colossal task but an experimental one. Indeed, the University achieved 100% online teaching, learning, examination and assessment.

Digital Degrees and Digital Provisional Certificates issued for the first time, so that students are not put to any disadvantage position in pursuing higher studies or employment.    

Digital degrees issued: over 21,000

Digital provisional certificate issued: 3900

Digital degrees issued 97th Annual Convocation: over 1.78 lakhs

In the academic session 2020-2021, Central Placement Cell collaborated with Internshala under which 6000+ work from home internships opportunities and 4000 internship opportunities under ‘Chalo India’ programme were extended to the students of the university of Delhi. There were no registration charges involved and all internships carried stipends ranging from 1000 to 30000 INR/month. All together 7500 students have been beneficiaries of these opportunities.

To expand its landscape of e-learning and teaching, the University launched One-DU programme during this period. It is an initiative of the University under which it has integrated all the e-learning resources offered by the varsity on a single platform. Other initiatives include:

·         Microsoft Campus License to facilitate Faculty members and Students

·         VPN Facility for Faculty members to access e-Resources from home / anywhere

·         Integration with INFLIBNET resources.

The University is actively engaged in the process of implementing the National Education Policy 2020 (NEP). The NEP Implementation Committee of the University has provided recommendations on the modalities of the implementation of NEP in the University at the undergraduate and postgraduate level. These recommendations have already been placed before the Statutory Bodies of the University. Active deliberations are on for the working out the detailed framework for the implementation of the NEP from the next academic session.

Career or professional advancement is something which every employee, teaching or non-teaching, look forward to, once he/she fulfils the requisite criteria for promotion. However, the promotions of many staff had been long overdue. The University has been working on war footing for processing the applications for promotions at all levels. About 750 promotions have been completed so far in the Departments of the University. In sixty-eight Colleges, around 4569 promotions of the teaching staff have been completed.

Promotions have been done for doctors in the University College of Medical Sciences (45 Promotions of teaching faculty) as well as in Vallabhbhai Patel Chest Institute (14 promotions of teaching faculty).

Similarly, for non-teaching staff in the University, about 283 promotions were completed. This includes promotions across the board, from administrative staff to professional staff, such as Doctors in Health Centre and Engineers in Engineering department of the University. The process of recruitment of about 1100 non-teaching positions advertised is underway.

These developments have infused lot of positivism in the academic and administrative circle, and is expected to impact the growth of the University. 

The University has also taken up various initiatives during the last one year. One such initiative is the Vidya Vistar Scheme, a scheme for developing academic cooperative bonding between colleges or departments of the University with colleges or departments of fellow Universities, which are situated in remote areas of this country. The aim of Vidya Vistar Scheme is to maximize contribution of higher educational institutions to nation building through optimum utilization of existing resources and potentials.

Through this scheme, the University of Delhi is opening up its academic resources and facilities available in its Departments and Colleges to the partner institutions for academic cooperation and collaboration.

19 Colleges and 5 Departments of the University have been approved to establish academic linkage with 33 Colleges/departments in remote areas under Vidya Vistar Scheme. Few more Colleges and Departments are in the process of joining this scheme and some have already commenced with various collaborative activities.

Recently, the University has also signed a MoU with the University of Ladakh for various collaborations and exchange.

Promoting the education of women has also been one of the focus areas of the University. The Non-Collegiate Women's Education Board (NCWEB) has been an attempt to encourage higher education of women. It is a pleasure to inform you that the University of Delhi has been selected as a "GATI Charter Institution" in the Gender Advancement for Transforming Institutions (GATI) initiative launched by Department of Science & Technology. GATI is a Charter for Gender Equality in STEMM for India, which aims to bring about institutional reforms to attract, recruit, retain and promote women into scientific laboratories and institutions of higher education.   

In line with the call for Atma Nirbhar Bharat, the University has established BioNEST-UDSC to support entrepreneurship and the development of innovative technologies in the area of Life Sciences. The proposed Bio- incubator is planned with the objective of supporting incubation for juvenile technologies developed by entrepreneur scientists. The Bio-incubator will also impart training to students / entrepreneurs in various technical areas. It will serve as a platform through which industry and academia can get connected, thus facilitating collaborations between academia and industry for translational research. 

The University is considering engaging International Adjunct Faculty in its various departments. This proposal is with the view to tap external talent and their specialized knowledge, expertise, and experience to add significant value to the teaching-learning process, research activities as well as in the overall development of the university and contribute to its internationalization.

The University has recently signed an MoU with Indian Council for Cultural Relations for the purpose of nominating ICCR scholars and students for studies in the University, cooperate to conduct various academic, cultural and extra-curricular programmes to enhance the academic environment and cultural exchange in the University, facilitate the academic exchange for overseas scholars and teachers to supplement a healthy academic growth and internationalization of the University by catering to the needs of foreign students funded by ICCR.

The University has also instituted the Bangabondhu Chair to strengthen the India-Bangladesh ties and promote students from Bangladesh to come to India for higher studies. The university will lay down the criteria to select a teacher for the Chair. The Chair shall be hosted by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations.

Many MoUs have been signed with foreign Universities to increase academic collaboration and exchange. As many as 84 MoUs are ongoing with foreign universities.

The University also revived the Centre for Canadian Studies which was inactive for some years. We hope that it will promote Indo-Canadian academic collaboration among faculty members, research scholars and students, particularly in the field of multidisciplinary studies

New courses have been introduced in the Undergraduate (UG) and Post Graduate (PG) level commencing from the academic year 2020-21. At the PG level, M.Sc. Biophysics course has been introduced from the academic year 2021-22. M.Sc. Biophysics Course is an amalgamation of Biology, Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, Computer Sciences and Statistics. It will train students in the area of drug design, data analytics, computational biology techniques, molecular dynamics simulation and so on.

I have mentioned only some of the activities of the University. But being one of the largest Universities in the country, we can still do much more. We have to make collective efforts towards making this University one of the best in the globe. I take this opportunity to invite our distinguished alumni to contribute in whatever way they can towards this effort of its alma mater. I would like to congratulate all the awardees and persuade them to keep striving for higher excellence. I call upon each faculty to strive harder in their field not only for their sake but also for the sake of the University and this nation.

Jai Hind!