I am pleased to be at the Arunachal University of Studies (AUS) ­– a premier educational institution in Namsai, Arunachal Pradesh – as its fourth Vice-Chancellor. The North-Eastern Hill (NEH) Region of the county, which includes Arunachal Pradesh and six other states, lies in the lap of the Himalayas and is beset with several daunting challenges. Yet there are many opportunities in the education and development sectors of the region. Education, indeed is a principal engine of economic prosperity everywhere. Inequalities in education may dramatically reduce the pool of talent, which societies can draw from. AUS was founded in 2012 to impart quality education in the remote NEH region of the county. Although the State of Arunachal Pradesh has advanced from extremely low literacy levels at the time of Independence, to 66.95% in 2011, it is still a long way to go as far as attaining high educational quality standards are concerned. Our moto at AUS is to attain excellence in education. Thanks to the foresight and dedication of the Founders who built this University and the hard work of the pioneering faculty and the previous Vice-Chancellors, we have reached this far.

The vision of a University as an inclusive community of scholars, international in character and a leader in higher education inspiring excellence and innovation, is the cornerstone of our strategy. As a community committed to the pursuit of knowledge, AUS would strive to provide student-centric education in a regional context and foster personal and intellectual growth to prepare students for productive careers, meaningful lives, and responsible citizenship.  Presently, AUS has eleven faculties, viz., Agricultural Sciences; Arts and Social Sciences; Commerce and Management; Design, Music and Fine Arts; Education, Special Education and Sports; Engineering and Technology; Medical Sciences; Legal studies; Library and Information Sciences; Science; and Skill Development and Vocational Studies. It shall be my endeavour to provide leadership to the organization and patronize scholarship in all domains of learning relevant to it.  Given my strong background in the science of natural resource management and the long academic experiences I have had, I am confident that I would be able to envision and implement the programmes of AUS.

I am sure that AUS will emerge as a major centre of learning in the NEH region of the country and will attain greater heights of excellence nationally and internationally in the days to come and attract more students from other parts of the world. The past year (2020) has been a trying one for all of us. The global pandemic created enormous challenges but also fast-tracked transitions to new approaches and technologies in education and other spheres of human endeavour that will serve us into the future.

Jai Hind

B. Mohan Kumar, PhD, FNASc, FNAAS, FNIE, FAS

Vice-Chancellor