An AdaptNET E-learning lab has been inaugurated in Tezpur University (TU) recently by Prof. V.K. Jain, Vice Chancellor, Tezpur University, in presence of the AdaptNET collaborators from Agricultural University of Athens, Greece; Universita Degli Studi Di Milano, Italy; Universita Politecnica Delle Marche, Italy; Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat; International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics, Andhra Pradesh, University of Agricultural Sciences, Karnataka and Ecosystems, Assam.

“AdaptNET is a capacity building project supported by Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA) of the European Commission under Erasmus+ initiative to strengthen education, research, and innovation for climate smart crops, an agricultural practice that sustainably increase productivity and system resilience while reducing greenhouse gas emissions in India”, explained  Prof. Debendra Chandra Baruah, Head, Department of Energy, Tezpur University and principal investigator of AdaptNET-TU. “The creation of an E-learning laboratory at Tezpur University is an important step towards capacity building”, Prof. Baruah further added.

It is worth mentioning that four faculty members viz. Dr. Nirmali Gogoi, Dr. Eeshan Kalita, Dr. Shailen Deka and Dr. Ratul Kr. Baruah from Tezpur University were recently trained in the frontier areas of Climate Change mitigation in premier European institutions. These faculty members are currently engaged in disseminating their know-how through a multi-disciplinary choice-based credit system course titled “Climate change mitigation and energy management for crop-based livelihood” for the students of Tezpur University. 

The University has a plan to train Ph.D. students of Indian Higher Educational Institutions including Tezpur University as a capacity-building mandate in European institutions under the project.

Prof. V. K. Jain, Vice Chancellor, TU in his inaugural address lauded this novel international collaboration and congratulated the AdaptNET team at Tezpur University for its involvement in the maiden Erasmus+ programme at the University. Prof Jain also pointed to its relevance and potential in the context of National Action Plans on Climate Change viz. National Mission for Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem, National Mission for Strategic Knowledge on Climate Change and National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture. Further, he expressed his desire to see the evolution of an Advanced Centre on Climate Change Mitigation as an outcome of this AdaptNET project.

Prof. Andreas Voloudakis, noted agriculturist, Agricultural University of Athens and coordinator of AdaptNET also expressed his happiness on the progress of activities of AdaptNET Tezpur University and wished that the project would contribute for capacity building in the areas of climate change and crop production in the state and the country at large. The programme continued with the briefing of the E-lab resources, an outline of the software available on Climate Change and outlining on the newly launched AdaptNET Tezpur University website (https://adaptnet.aua.gr/). The faculty and students involved with AdaptNET Tezpur University also shared their experiences and expectations from this initiative.

Apart from Tezpur University faculty members, students and AdaptNET collaborators from different institutions of the world, hosts of other dignitaries were virtually present at the time of e-inauguration of the lab. Among the prominent dignitaries present were Prof Andreas Voloudakis, Agricultural University of Athens, Prof Carlo Pozzi, Universita Politecnica Delle, Prof Bidyut K Sarma, Assam Agricultural University, Prof Ishwarappa Katagari, University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad, Ms. Nandita Hazarika, energy-environment consultant, Ecosystems, Assam.