The Department of Instrumentation & USIC, in association with NIT (Agartala) organised a workshop on “Opportunities for Research and Innovation using the DST-Sponsored Facilities of Gauhati University” from 3rd May to 9th May 2022.

The programme was financially sponsored by the Department of Science and Technology, Govt. of India under Synergistic Training Program Utilizing the Science & Technology Infrastructure (STUTI).

Participants

The programme was conducted successfully with a total of 45 registered participants from several institutions like Anandaram Dhekial Phookan College, Central Institute of Technology (Kokrajhar), Dibrugarh University, Digboi College, Gauhati University, Manipur University, National Institute of Technology (Silchar), Nowgong College, Rajiv Gandhi University, Rowan University, and Tezpur University. Participants included both research scholars and faculty members from Physics, Chemistry, Electronics, and Mathematics backgrounds.

All the DST-sponsored facilities in Gauhati University were included as a part of the training program. Lectures and Hands-on sessions were organized for all these facilities. Lecture sessions covered the basic theory and working principle, instrumentation and the application part of each instrument.

Lectures were provided by:

• Prof. Ananthakrishnan Srinivasan (IIT-Guwahati)
• Prof. Jubaraj Bikash Baruah (IIT-Guwahati)
• Dr. Bimal Kumar Sarma (Gauhati University)
• Dr. Bipul Sarma (Tezpur University)
• Dr. Hemen Kumar Kalita (Gauhati University)
• Dr. Manos Pratim Chakrapani Kalita
• Dr. Nilamoni Nath (Gauhati University)
• Dr. Pranjal Baruah (Gauhati University)
• Dr. Pranjit Hazarika (Gauhati University)
• Dr. Ranjit Thakuria (Gauhati University)
• Dr. Rupam Sarma (Gauhati University)
• Dr. Simanta Hazarika (Gauhati University)
• Dr. Tridib Sarma (Cotton University)

The Schedule of the Training Program was designed in such a way that the participants can have a lecture session as well as a brief hands-on session on all the functional DST-sponsored facilities of Gauhati University. Wherever possible, preparation of the sample for various analytical methods and introduction to analysis of the experimental data was also covered during the lecture sessions. For the convenience of the participants, they were grouped into smaller numbers and visited the analytical facilities in rotation.

Apart from the training activities the participants were taken to Institute of Advanced Study in Science and Technology, Boragaon, Guwahati which is a DST sponsored research institute closest to the university. The participants were introduced to the various high-end equipment present there and the work culture followed in the institute. One of the main attractions for the researchers was Bio-NEST, the incubation center inside IASST. The participants were familiarized with the procedure to use the analytical facilities present in IASST as well as the funding opportunities that can come out of the innovative marketable ideas offered by Bio-NEST. The participants were also taken for a river cruise on the Brahmaputra River.

As a part of this program, school children are allowed to visit the facilities present in the University, including the workshop, glass blowing unit and the SAIF.

The entire event was co-ordinated by Dr Madhurya Madhur Borgohain with active support from Dr. Debashis Saikia, Dr. Pranjal Borah, Dr. Rajdeep Choudhury and Mr. Nairit Barkataki.