E-Paper
ICCR teams up with SPPU to globalise traditional Indian knowledge
With an aim to disseminate traditional Indian knowledge across the world and to make present-day Indian citizens aware of their roots and culture, the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) and the Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU) have come together to launch an ambitious initiative titled Universalization of Traditional Indian Knowledge System (UTIKS)
With an aim to disseminate traditional Indian knowledge across the world and to make present-day Indian citizens aware of their roots and culture, the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) and the Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU) have come together to launch an ambitious initiative titled Universalization of Traditional Indian Knowledge System (UTIKS).
An MoU to this effect was signed between the two organizations on Thursday during a ceremony held at the SPPU campus.
Dr Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, president ICCR, said, “There are many platforms available around the world to discuss economic and strategic issues, but there are no platforms available for discussing culture. Considering this, we are undertaking the ‘UTIKS’ project with the Savitribai Phule Pune University, through which efforts will be made to enhance education and impart the right information over Indian traditional knowledge and dispel stereotypes and misconceptions.”
ICCR’s mandate is to universalise the traditional Indian knowledge system which is of interest to the international community. It has entered into an agreement with SPPU through its e-Content Development and Learning Innovation Centre (e-CDLIC) to create structured e-content capsules. It will provide basic information for those within India and overseas about the subjects related to Indian art, culture, Indian epics, Indian wildlife, temple architecture, folk art and tradition, yoga, Indian cuisine and traditional dances of India among others.
SPPU vice-chancellor Dr Nitin Karmalkar said, “We will make a special effort to understand Indian traditional knowledge in a contemporary way and not just by providing available information. The project will be important in preserving Indian culture as well as guiding the new generation.”
The knowledge base of various departments of SPPU and the allied institutions shall be utilized for the development of UTIKS. The e-CDLIC at SPPU will utilize the best academic brains to create engaging content that would include presentation, video, quizzes, and reading material of about two hours in each capsule. The centre has the expertise of developing e-content using its state-of-the-art studio facility. It has so far created more than 1,300 video-based courses.
The information of about 100 subjects from the categories mentioned above shall be made available under this UTIKS initiative through the capsules of e-content. In the beginning, it would be available in English and there are plans to make it available in German, French, Russian, Japanese, and Chinese at a later stage.
