President Mukherjee attends sixth convocation of Dr D. Y. Patil Vidyapeeth

President Pranab Mukherjee on Friday attended the 6th Convocation of Dr. D. Y. Patil Vidyapeeth in Pune.

The President said that the objective of education is not merely the acquisition of knowledge and the production of competent manpower, stating that at a macro level, education leads to nation-building while at the micro level, it must result in character-building in students.

President Mukherjee further said that the education model must not only develop the mind but also create positive mind-sets. Expanding a student's ability must go hand in hand with building his attitude. A creative mind-set combined with a positive attitude can help unearth solutions to problems afflicting the society like malnutrition, affordable healthcare, efficient energy use, drinking water and sanitation.

The President emphasized that there is a need to link education with research and innovation in a seamless manner to transform the Universities into great learning centres. He said that education disseminates knowledge while research creates new knowledge. Innovation converts that knowledge into wealth and social good. Promoting inter-disciplinary research and research at under-graduate level, boosting collaborative research and joint research papers, and encouraging bright students to enter the research field are some of the steps required in this direction.

On the occasion, the President also awarded Honoris Causa to NCP chief Sharad Pawar, Congress leader Abhijit Mukherjee, and National Chemical Laboratory professor Dr Raghunath Mashelkar.