Vice President launches six new academic initiatives at SASTRA

Representatives of Tata Communications and SASTRA Deemed University exchange copies of an MoU during the Ruby and Silver Jubilee Valedictory in Thanjavur on Sunday. Vice-President C.P. Radhakrishnan,centre, and Tamil Nadu Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar, second from left, look on. | Photo Credit: R. VENGADESH Vice President C.P. Radhakrishnan launched six new academic initiatives at the SASTRA, Deemed to be a University, at Thirumalaisamudhram near Thanjavur on August 17.According to an official release, the new initiatives were TATA Communications Centre for Resilient and Unified Secure Technologies, SASTRA’S Integrated AI Framework, SASTRA-MAITRI (Mobility for Academic Initiatives Through Research and Internationalisation), SASTRA-STRIDE (SASTRA Teaching, Research and Innovation Development Enhancement Fund for capacity building among faculty and research scholars), DRISHTI (Digital Resources for Instructional Systems in Higher Education using Technology and Innovation) and SMILE (a SASTRA-CUB Membership for Incentives, Loyalty and Engagement).Launching new schemes formed part of the Ruby and Silver Jubilee valedictory celebrations held on Monday. Mr. Radhakrishnan called upon the students to focus on innovation and continuous skill upgradation. While urging them to restrict their social media usage, he advised them to stay away from drugs. “Say no to narcotic drugs. Say yes to your health and say yes to your life,” he added.Referring to the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, recently passed in the Parliament, Mr. Radhakrishnan said the legislation aims at strengthening public examination systems and reflects the Union Government’s commitment to ensuring a fair and transparent mechanism for the youth of India.Further, through several measures, the Centre is building a self-reliant ecosystem capable of developing sovereign technological capabilities while driving socio-economic growth through the manufacturing and services sectors, the Vice President said.Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar, SASTRA Chancellor R. Sethuraman, and Vice-Chancellor S. Vaidhyasubramaniam participated, the release added. Published - August 17, 2026 07:31 pm IST