Project : Strengthening Community University Research Partnerships

The Indian leg of the UNESCO Chair in Community Based Research and Social Responsibility in Higher Education recently completed a project titled ‘Community Engagement in Higher Education Institutions’. Funded by the British Council, the project covered the states of Punjab, Bengal, Assam and Karnataka. Here, the UNESCO Chair partnered with Punjab University (PU), North Bengal University (NBU), Indian Institute of Technology-Guwahati (IIT-G) and Jain University (JU)’ Bangalore. With the help of these institutions, the Chair conducted a survey on the current practices of community engagement in the HEIs of all the 4 states. This resulted in the production of the first of its kind database on this subject, which shed light on the current scenario and helped to plan for future activities. In additions to the projects, the UNESCO Chair also promoted this work in a number of ways including: organizing seminars at local universities and colleges; supporting the establishment of a Centre for fostering social responsibility and community engagement in universities; and hosting a National Symposium on "Mainstreaming Community-University Partnerships".