November 2012
Greetings from the Canada-India Centre for Excellence at Carleton University.
As 2012 nears its end, we celebrate another extraordinary year at the Centre, which continued to witness a flurry of colourful activities and high-profile visits into the Summer and Fall seasons.
In July, the Forum for Exchange and Excellence in Design (FEED) in Pune featured Carleton Professor H. Masud Taj, architect, poet and calligrapher, who addressed a large gathering of students from all Indian colleges of architecture, along with professors and professionals, delivering a public lecture entitled guftgu – A Convesation about Architecture.
Between July 12-14, Carleton hosted a conference on Human Rights: India and the West focusing on theoretical analysis, intellectual traditions and social practices. Participants included researchers from Carleton, University of Ottawa, Wilfrid Laurier University, York, McGill, Delhi University, Jawarharlal Nehru University, and India’s Centre for the Study of Developing Societies. We especially thank Prof. Jay Drydyk, of the Dept. of Philosophy, for organizing and facilitating this conference.
On Aug. 15, the High Commissioner of India H.E. Mr. S.M. Gavai and Mrs. Rina Gavai hosted the Celebration of India Independence Day at the River Building’s Atrium at Carleton University. The event brought together over four hundred dignitaries and guests from Ottawa, Montreal and Toronto, including Ministers J. Baird and E. Fast, who delivered words of welcome and congratulations along with H.E. Mr. Gavai. Mrs. Rina Gavai was recognized specially for her contribution to the community.
In September, the Centre participated in the Canada India Agriculture and Food Processing Forum organized by the Canada India Foundation, which took place in Vancouver and Saskatoon on Sept. 10-12, 2012. Dr. Runte represented CICE as a guest speaker at the Forum in Saskatoon.
On Sept. 25, renowned sociologist and one of India’s foremost thinkers on social and economic issues, Dr. Dipanker Gupta met with members of Carleton’s Interfaculty Committee on Asian Studies and CICE representatives for a roundtable and exchange on his current research findings. Dr. Gupta then delivered a public lecture at IDRC headquarters entitled The Hollowed Village and the Hopeful Slum.
On Sept. 26, Indian high school principals visited Carleton University for a half-day workshop as part of their Canadian tour organized by AUCC and DFAIT.
This fall, the Centre’s board members and representatives participated in two consecutive roundtable discussions with the Hon. Harinder Takhar, Minister of Government Services in Ontario, and with the Hon. Ed Fast, Minister of International Trade and Minister for the Asia-Pacific Gateway.
CICE Board members, Barj Dhahan and Laj Prasher were invited to join Prime Minister Stephen Harper as part of the official delegation during his recent visit to India.
On Oct. 3, former president H.E. Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam delivered the inaugural Budh Singh and Kashmir Kaur Dhahan Annual Lecture entitled, Birth of Enlightened Society. This event was embraced by the public and we had to move the lecture to a larger venue to accommodate the unprecedented response. Despite the fact that we were booked to capacity and closed registration days before the event, this did not discourage dozens of students and guests from showing up at the door and insisting on being part of this historic visit. You can view the address by H.E. Dr Kalam on the Centre’s video gallery.
On Oct. 14, the annual M.K. Gandhi Lecture on Peace and the Humanities, In Search of Pax Gandhiana, was delivered by Anthony J. Parel (Professor Emeritus, University of Calgary) at the Lecture Theatre of the River Building. This event was organized in collaboration with the College of Humanities and the Mahatma Gandhi Peace Council of Ottawa, with support from several members of the Centre’s board and donors. On the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti, a ceremony was held at the Gandhi statue in front of the River Building before the lecture, thanks to the tireless efforts of Professor Emeritus Jagmohan Humar and H.E. Mrs. N. Chauhan, acting High Commissioner of India in Ottawa. The Centre board was represented by Dr. P. Merchant and Dr. N. Goel. Dr Runte delivered opening remarks.
This October, the Canada-India Centre for Excellence hosted the India Film Festival, Through a Woman’s Lens at the River Building amphitheatre thanks to the generosity of the High Commission of India. Six films directed by women directors were screened over two weekends (Oct. 19-21 and Oct. 26-28) and were very well attended by the public. Each film was introduced by a faculty member and discussions were held after the screenings.
As part of our ongoing exchanges with partner institutions in India, Carleton is hosting five Commonwealth Scholarship recipients, including two scholars from Anna University (Chennai) at the Chemistry Department, with Prof. P. Sundararajan; one from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc, Bangalore) who joined Prof. Ram Achar’s laboratory in the Department of Electronics; one from the Indian Statistical Institute (ISI, Kolkata) and another from the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER, Kolkata) at the School of Computer Science under Prof. Anil Maheshwari’s supervision.
We are delighted to share the news that the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Board of Directors has named Prof. Ram Achar as IEEE Fellow, one of the IEEE’s most prestigious honors, for his ‘contributions to interconnect and signal integrity analysis in high-speed designs’
The Canada-India Centre acknowledges the generous contribution by Carleton’s Emeritus Professor K. Marwah, who established the Kanta Marwah Research Grant in Peace and Security. This research grant is set up as a memorial to Mahatma (M.K.) Gandhi, and in recognition of the work being carried by an international group of Economists for Peace and Security (EPS), and the Mahatma Gandhi Peace Council of Ottawa. The competition is open to doctoral students enrolled at Carleton, faculty members and visiting research scholars and will commence in 2014. It is the first research grant established under the aegis of the Canada-India Centre for Excellence in Science, Technology, Trade and Policy.
We invite you to mark your calendars for the 2013 National Capital India Forum – Adapting your Business to India which will take place on Feb. 21, 2013 in Ottawa. This event is jointly organized by the Telfer School of Management of the University of Ottawa and the Sprott School of Business of Carleton University in collaboration with ICOBC and sponsoring organizations. This half-day forum involving senior business and government leaders from Canada and India is designed to help prepare Canadian companies to engage in the dynamic and globally strategic Indian market. We hope to see you there.
Last but not least, India Abroad will be issuing a special supplement on the Canada-India Centre for Excellence on Nov. 30, 2012. Make sure you are on the lookout for a souvenir copy!
Wishing you all a peaceful holiday season,
Roseann O’Reilly Runte
President & Vice-Chancellor