About the Programme

The Directorate of Research, Internal Quality Assurance Cell and UGC-Malaviya Mission Teacher Training Centre jointly organized a Capacity Building Programme for Higher Education Teachers on Proposal Preparation for Research Grants, Patents and High-Impact Publications under the aegis of BECH – RUSA 2.0 on 17.11.2025 (Monday) at the Convocation Hall, Bharathidasan University.

The Programme was inaugurated by the Honorable Minister for Higher Education, Government of Tamil Nadu, Dr. Govi. Chezhiyan through videoconferencing. The Secretary to Government, Department of Higher Education, Dr. P. Sankar I.A.S. delivered the Key Note Address in the Inaugural Ceremony.

In his Inaugural Address, Dr. Govi. Chezhiyan, Honorable Minister for Higher Education, Government of Tamil Nadu observed that the Programme is a practical expression of the Tamil Nadu Government’s commitment to the cause of higher education, in general and promoting research in higher education institutions, in particular. He added that the academic institutions are expected to focus not only on teaching, but also on research and development, like what R & D Cells do in the industry. He commented that proposals with clearly-defined research problems, fool-proof methods of research process and application-oriented results and outputs are the need of the hour; for such valid proposals funds from governmental organizations and industries are available aplenty. He also highlighted the Government’s scheme of Chief Minister's Research Grant (CMRG) for promoting high-quality and outcome-based research in the Higher Education Institutions of Tamil Nadu.

In his Keynote Address, Secretary to Government, Department of Higher Education, Dr. P. Sankar I.A.S. highlighted the research caliber of Indians since ages has always been of immense greatness, quoting the great contributions Indian scientists like Srinivasa Ramanujam, Raja Ramanna, J.C. Bose made in early times of modern science. He urged the higher education teachers of Tamil Nadu to explore all the possibilities of mobilizing research grants from, not only Indian Research Funding Agencies, but also from International Agencies through collaborations and networking.

Prof. S. K. Varshney, Former Advisor, Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India; Prof. K. Kadirvelu, Scientist G and Associate Director, DRDO – DEBEL, Industry Academia - Centre of Excellence, Bharathiar University; Prof. L. Venkatachalam, Professor (RBI Chair), Madras Institute of Developmental Studies, Chennai; Prof. S. Balakumar, National Centre for Nanoscience & Technology, University of Madras, Chennai; Dr. M. Mahindraprabhu, Faculty of Law, Tamil Nadu National Law University, Tiruchirappalli, Prof. K. Elavazhagan, Chief Knowledge Officer, Indian Institute of Management – Trichy served as Resource Persons for the event.

With featured sessions on Research Proposal Writing, Funding Agencies / Schemes, Research Ethics, Academic Integrity and Plagiarism, and High-Impact Publications by accomplished scientists and academics with proven track record of funded research projects and publications, the Capacity Building Programme helped the participants to strengthen the research competence, enhanced their understanding of the different funding agencies / schemes and built their capacity to prepare winning proposals for research grants.

The Programme, conducted in dual mode had the participation of 317 participants in face-to-face mode and 550 participants in online mode. Besides, around 2000 faculty members of different State Universities in Tamil Nadu got the benefit of the Programme, through the online sessions, delivered to them in hybrid mode, at their respective Universities.