Gujarat chief minister Bhupendra Patel inaugurated a two-day international conference of academic institutions as a precursor to the 10th Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit to be held between January 10 and 12.

During the inaugural ceremony, Patel launched the second edition of the Student Start-up and Innovation Policy (SSIP 2.0) in the presence of dignitaries from India and across the world.

The five-year tenure of the SSIP-1 will end on January 10. Hence, SSIP 2.0 was unveiled on Wednesday and will remain in force till March 2027.

The new policy aims to establish an innovation and incubation centre in each of the 90-odd universities in Gujarat.

Other objectives of the policy include providing financial assistance to school and college students to build prototypes and proof-of-consents, financial assistance for filing at least 1,000 Intellectual Properties (IPs) and building a pre-incubation support system in 500 institutions and universities.

The policy also aims to upscale nearly 1,500 student start-ups and incubate 500 start-ups through iHub, a state government initiative, the release stated.

Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan was supposed to inaugurate the mega event, focused on discussions about the implementation of the National Education Policy, 2020, but he could not attend due to some unforeseen circumstances.

The two-day conference is being held at Science City.

According to the state government, around 120 panel speakers, including 40 from abroad, will be sharing their experiences across 21 different sessions during this 2-day seminar.

Australia, Canada, Norway, the UK and France have joined as partner countries for this conference, while the British Council, Australia India Business Exchange and Institute of International Education are among the key institutions which have joined as international participants.

Over 2,000 MoUs will be signed between various government entities, universities and institutions during the event.

In his inaugural address, Gujarat education minister Jitu Vaghani announced that the state government is planning to centralise the placement process and also planning to establish a central data centre to provide “equal opportunity to students living in remote areas”.

Speaking on the occasion, the chief minister exuded confidence that the new National Education Policy will ensure “good governance in the education sector”.

Patel informed the audience that Gujarat has nearly 91 universities and over 2,800 education institutions.

The state government has always promoted research and development activities in educational institutions as envisioned in the NEP, he said.

During the two-day event, speakers from across the world will hold discussions on subjects, such as multidisciplinary and holistic education, internationalisation of education, skill development and employability, digital empowerment, global ranking of universities and inclusive education for children with special needs among others.

As part of the conference, a vice chancellors’ conclave for building “world-class universities” has been planned on January 6.

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