58-year legacy must become foundation for future-ready, innovative and socially responsive university: VC
Jammu, September 8: The University of Jammu celebrated its 58th Foundation Day with Vice-Chancellor Prof. Umesh Rai calling upon the University fraternity to move beyond conventional, marks-oriented education and build an academic ecosystem centred on problem-solving, project-based learning, research, innovation, entrepreneurship and societal relevance.
Addressing the gathering, Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Umesh Rai said the 58th Foundation Day was not merely an occasion to celebrate the University’s journey, but also a moment to reflect on the kind of institution it must become for the generations ahead.
He said the University of Jammu had reached a stage where it must move beyond following established models and have the confidence to create new ones for higher education.
“I have never believed that we should simply copy another university. I want the University of Jammu to be an example for others” Prof. Rai said, calling upon the University fraternity to work collectively towards making Jammu University a model institution for the country.
Prof. Rai said the changing world required universities to rethink the way students are taught, assessed and prepared for life. Education, he said, could no longer remain excessively centred on marks, examinations and rote learning. The real measure of a student should increasingly be the ability to think, collaborate, create and solve problems.
“We cannot determine the future of today’s students according to the standards and circumstances of our own student days,” he said.
Emphasising project-based and interdisciplinary learning, the Vice-Chancellor said students from different disciplines should be encouraged to work together on real-life problems. He said the University had already begun experimenting with such approaches and urged faculty members to make project-mode learning an integral part of curriculum design. Assessment, too, must evolve to recognise both collaborative work and individual contribution.
Referring to the University’s new undergraduate-postgraduate programme, Prof. Rai said the initiative seeks to bring students from different academic streams onto a common multidisciplinary platform, with exposure to areas such as Information Technology, mathematical ability, data, communication skills, coding, Artificial Intelligence and financial literacy.
He cautioned that innovative programmes should not eventually slip back into conventional teaching practices. “Please do not take it towards rote learning. Take it towards project-mode learning and real-life problem-solving,” he told the academic fraternity.
Placing research at the heart of the University’s future, Prof. Rai said the institution had witnessed encouraging growth in its research performance, with citations increasing from around 944 to 10,549. The University’s admissions had also increased from around 1,800 last year to more than 2,800 this year, which, he said, reflected growing confidence in the institution.
He also highlighted the University’s participation in the National Research Foundation’s Partnership for Accelerated Innovation and Research programme in collaboration with IIT Delhi, saying the future of research lay in meaningful collaborations that transcend institutional and disciplinary boundaries.
The University, he said, was also witnessing research and innovation across emerging areas including energy storage, health sciences, cybersecurity, communication, financial technologies, biometric authentication and patient-safety technologies.
Prof. Rai, however, said the university of the future could not be built on technology alone.
“Education means understanding oneself and understanding society,” he said, stressing that technological advancement must remain connected with values, ethics, wisdom, culture and the humanities.
The Vice-Chancellor said a university also carries a responsibility towards the region and society from which it draws its identity. For the University of Jammu, this meant becoming a serious centre for the study, preservation and promotion of the diverse cultural and intellectual traditions of Jammu and Kashmir.
In this context, he highlighted the University’s initiative to establish the Centre for Regional Studies, Culture, Dialects and Emotional Intelligence, which would undertake research across Jammu and Kashmir and explore its culture, literature, dialects, traditions and heritage, besides examining their possible linkages with tourism, entrepreneurship and the economy.
“If we do not strengthen our own culture, literature, dialects and traditions, nobody else will come and do it for us,” Prof. Rai said.
He also referred to the Jammu and Kashmir Sahitya Sanskriti Samagam, which brought together diverse literary and cultural traditions from across the region and witnessed participation of more than 50,000 people. He said universities must provide students not only contemporary knowledge and technological skills but also an understanding of their own cultural roots and identity.
Prof. Rai also outlined the infrastructural development underway at the University, including strengthening of digital infrastructure, expansion of land resources, development of new academic and skill-development facilities and improvement of boys’ and girls’ hostels. He said the focus was on creating better academic, digital and residential facilities in keeping with the University’s growing needs.
Linking the University’s initiatives with the larger purpose of the Foundation Day, Prof. Rai said the institution’s journey of 58 years had been made possible by generations of teachers, employees, students, alumni and other stakeholders who had contributed to building the University.
The responsibility of the present generation, he said, was not merely to inherit that legacy but to strengthen it and leave behind an institution better prepared for the future.
Calling himself merely a “catalyst” in the University’s transformation, Prof. Rai credited the progress to the collective efforts of the University fraternity. “Every one of you has a role to play,” he said, urging faculty members, officers, employees, researchers and students to take ownership of the University’s future.
Prof. Rai said the University of Jammu must continue to evolve as an institution where knowledge, research, innovation, entrepreneurship, technology, culture and societal responsibility come together.
On the 58th Foundation Day, he called upon the University fraternity to renew its commitment to the institution and build a University that not only responds to the changing needs of higher education but also provides direction to others.
“Let us strengthen the foundation laid 58 years ago. Let us create a University that does not merely follow the standards set by others but sets standards for others to follow,” Prof. Rai said.
Chief Guest Dr. Dheer Singh, Director, ICAR-National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI), Karnal, congratulated the University fraternity and said universities were not merely places of teaching but institutions that shape individuals, society and the nation.
He said the strength of a university lies in its teachers, students, research culture and ability to innovate and adapt. Addressing the students, he said their background need not determine their future. “You can change your destiny through knowledge,” he said, adding that the knowledge economy begins in universities.
Dr. Singh identified education, research and employment as three crucial dimensions of a modern university and stressed that research should move beyond laboratories and academic publications to create technologies, products, enterprises and solutions for society.
Referring to Jammu and Kashmir, he said the region offered immense potential in agriculture, handicrafts, local products and knowledge traditions, where research and innovation could generate employment and economic value.
He also underlined the growing importance of digital transformation and Artificial Intelligence, while stressing that technology must go hand-in-hand with values, ethics and social responsibility. He urged students to question, research, work across disciplines and convert their ideas into meaningful solutions.
Guest of Honour Shri Manish Vij, Managing Partner, Smile Group and Founder, Vanna Ventures, New Delhi, said universities must prepare students to combine disciplinary expertise with the ability to work across domains and address real-world challenges.
Using the letter “T” as an analogy, he said its vertical line represented depth and specialisation, while the horizontal represented cross-functional and interdisciplinary learning.
Vij outlined three action points for higher education: forge strong industry-university partnerships through live projects, make interdisciplinary learning integral to education, and take full advantage of the Artificial Intelligence revolution.
He said students should work with businesses and industries on real problems rather than undertake projects that merely end with certificates or reports. “Projects should not simply be completed and placed on shelves. They should remain alive, run by the business and appreciated by the business,” he said.
Calling AI a major opportunity, Vij said its application should extend beyond Computer Science to disciplines such as law, psychology, biology, agriculture and management. “The University of Jammu has an opportunity to become an AI university for India,” he said.
He also advocated industry partnerships and mentorship opportunities with emerging AI companies. Describing teachers and academicians as the “superpower” of the institution, he urged them to nurture students who leave the University not merely with degrees, but as confident, innovative, interdisciplinary and industry-ready individuals.
Earlier, welcoming the guests, Prof. Neelu Rohmetra, Dean Research Studies, University of Jammu, described the University’s 58-year institutional journey as a testimony to resilience, perseverance and the contribution of generations of stakeholders.
Prof. Rohmetra said the University was increasingly making space for skills, entrepreneurship, experiential learning, learning beyond classrooms and cutting-edge research with societal relevance.
She credited the collective contribution of the University community for enabling this transformation and thanked Vice-Chancellor Prof. Umesh Rai for providing an environment that encouraged experimentation, innovation and creativity.
A special feature of the 58th Foundation Day celebrations was the felicitation of distinguished alumni who have excelled in the fields of judiciary, civil administration, tourism and entrepreneurship, besides student achievers and best-performing employees of the University.
Among those honoured was Justice Mr Wasim Sadiq Nargal, alumnus of Law and presently Judge of the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh. With a distinguished legal career spanning over three decades, Justice Nargal has extensive experience in constitutional, service, taxation, academic, civil and arbitration matters. He served in several important capacities, including Senior Additional Advocate General for the J&K Home Department and counsel for various government and public institutions. Designated as Senior Advocate in 2020, he was appointed Additional Judge of the High Court in 2022 and was subsequently confirmed as a Permanent Judge. His journey from the classrooms of the University of Jammu to the Bench of the High Court was recognised as a matter of immense pride for the University.
The University also honoured Shri Udham Dass, JKAS, an alumnus of the Department of History and presently serving as Additional Secretary at the Hon’ble Lieutenant Governor’s Secretariat, J&K. A member of the JKAS 2008 batch, he completed his M.A. in History from the University of Jammu during 2001-03 and was a Gold Medallist. He subsequently pursued M.Phil. and Ph.D. in History and qualified UGC NET and JRF NET. As he could not attend the function owing to official engagements at Lok Bhawan, Srinagar, the memento was received on his behalf by the Registrar, University of Jammu.
Ms. Ansuya Jamwal, JKAS, alumna of The Business School and presently Additional Deputy Commissioner, Jammu, was felicitated for her contribution to public administration. An MBA from the University of Jammu, she joined the Jammu & Kashmir Administrative Service in 2004 and has served in several important assignments across Social Welfare, Tourism, Government Medical College and Hospitality & Protocol. Her contribution to inter-departmental coordination, emergency response, rescue and relief efforts during challenging situations, including Operation Sindoor and the August 2025 floods, was also acknowledged.
Another distinguished alumnus felicitated on the occasion was Shri Vijay Kumar, a member of the second batch of the Master’s in Tourism Management, 2004, who is presently Joint General Manager-Tourism, IRCTC Ltd., North Zone, New Delhi. Beginning his professional journey in the travel industry, he joined IRCTC in 2011 as Assistant Manager-Tourism and rose through successive positions to Joint General Manager in 2023. He currently oversees tourism projects across North India.
The University also felicitated Shri Rajat Salgotra, a Gold Medallist in MBA International Business from the International Centre for Cross-Cultural Research and Human Resource Management and former Cultural Secretary of the University. A first-generation entrepreneur, he is the Founder and CEO of Samast Eco Alternatives Pvt. Ltd., a sustainability-focused startup that upcycles cow dung and temple flower waste into eco-friendly products. His entrepreneurial journey has earned him, among other recognitions, the Best Startup Award from the Hon’ble Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir and a Best Startup Award presented by Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh at the Kathua Startup Conclave.
The University also felicitated student achievers for their outstanding accomplishments in sports, cultural activities, NSS and NCC, recognising their achievements at University, national and international levels. The Foundation Day document records achievers across these categories, including international and national-level sporting participation, cultural distinctions, Youth Parliament, National Integration Camps and Republic Day Parade participation.
The best-performing employees of the University were also honoured for their dedication and contribution to the institution. Those recognised included Vikas Bhat, Section Officer, Vice-Chancellor’s Secretariat; Neeru Gupta, Section Officer, Examination Wing; Ashwani Kumar, Mali, Landscaping Unit; and Jagtar, Sanitation Worker, Department of Botany.
Earlier, as part of its commitment to social responsibility and youth engagement, the University of Jammu organised a Nasha Mukt Pledge, led by Vice-Chancellor Prof. Umesh Rai. The pledge reaffirmed the University’s resolve to contribute towards a drug-free society, in alignment with the vision of Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and Hon’ble Lieutenant Governor and Chancellor Shri Manoj Sinha for a Nasha Mukt Bharat and a drug-free Jammu & Kashmir.
The event was ably conducted by Prof. Sarika Manhas, Co-Chairperson, Campus Cultural Committee.
The vote of thanks was delivered by Dr. Neeraj Sharma, Registrar, University of Jammu, who expressed gratitude to the Chief Guest, Guest of Honour, Vice-Chancellor, distinguished guests and members of the University fraternity for their generous participation and contributions towards making the 58th Foundation Day celebrations memorable.
The celebrations were further enlivened by cultural performances, showcasing the creativity of students and the rich cultural traditions of the region.
The programme was graced by many Senior faculty members,Deans of different Faculties,Rectors/Directors of Offsite Campuses, Heads/Directors of the teaching Departments, University Officers, faculty members, research scholars, students, non-teaching employees, distinguished alumni, invited guests and members of the media fraternity.
