India launch of UNESCO Chair and symposium on “Fostering Social Responsibility in Higher Education”

Abstract

This report is about the India launch of the UNESCO Chair in Community-Based Research and Social Responsibility in Higher Education, held on December 10, 2012 at Jamia Millia Islamia in collaboration with PRIA. It covers the background to the Chair, co-founded by Rajesh Tandon and Budd Hall, and its place within India's 12th Five Year Plan push for community-university engagement. The report outlines PRIA's long history as a bridging institution between academia and communities, and lists six illustrative forms of engagement, from linking research with community knowledge to including practitioners as teachers. It then summarises the launch event itself, held in two sessions. The first marked the formal opening of the Chair, with speeches from Budd Hall, Rajesh Tandon, JMI's Vice-Chancellor and other dignitaries. The second being a panel discussion on fostering social responsibility in higher education in India.