In a pioneering initiative, the University of Jammu signed an important Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) today with Agrinnovate India Ltd., Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of India. This first-of-its-kind collaboration aims to drive cutting-edge agricultural research, technology innovation, and commercialization, marking a significant milestone in the University's commitment to impactful scientific advancements.

The signing ceremony, held at the office of Hon’ble Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Umesh Rai, signifies a transformative step towards bridging academia and industry. The partnership will give faculty, researchers and students at the University of Jammu, an opportunity to commercialize and transfer the technologies developed in the University.

The MoU was signed by Dr. Praveen Malik CEO, Agrinnovate India Ltd. and Dr. Neeraj Sharma, Registrar, University of Jammu. The signing ceremony was attended by Prof. Neelu Rohmetra, Dean Research Studies; Prof. Yashpal Sharma, Dean Faculty of Life Sciences; Dr. Susheel Verma, Professor, Department of Botany; Prof. Sanjana Kaul, Director, School of Biotechnology; Prof. B.K. Bajaj, Incharge IPR cell; Prof. Jyoti Vakhlu, Innovator of the technologies and Mr. Dhruv Agnihotri, Business Manager, Agrinnovate India Ltd.

The MoU signing ceremony was followed by a meeting on techno-commercial evaluation of the innovative technology developed by Metagenomic laboratory, School of Biotechnology, University of Jammu. The meeting was chaired by Honorable Vice Chancellor, Prof. Umesh Rai. There were two technologies in question: Bacillus based bioformulation that has the capability to increase the production of golden condiment; saffron and it has also shown promising results in garlic and potato too. This bioformulation has been developed in the doctoral work of Dr. Shanu Magotra, Associate professor, Chandigarh University; Mr. Tahir Ali, Ph.D. Scholar, School of Biotechnology, University of Jammu and Dr Nancy Bhagat, Research Associate, School of Biotechnology, University of Jammu, Ms. Nitika Sharma and Ms. Ayushi Verma, Ph.D. Scholars, School of Biotechnology, University of Jammu under the mentorship of Prof. Jyoti Vakhlu. The second technology is the Gadget-free DNA extraction, purification and transportation kit that has been developed by Dr. Nancy Bhagat and Ms. Komal Sharma again under the mentorship of Prof Jyoti Vakhlu. This kit is totally gadget free and doesn't require any high-tech instruments as required in case of commercial DNA isolation protocol. The kit is very cost-effective and can be used by non-skilled person easily. The meeting was held to evaluate the scalability, efficiency, and performance of the technologies, alongside its market viability, pricing strategies, and the projected return on investment. A comprehensive analysis was conducted to understand the capability of the technologies, potential challenges, and opportunities in the current market.

Technology evaluator Dr. Praveen Malik, CEO, Agrinnovate India Ltd. did a thorough discussion and gave his valuable inputs which will be incorporated for the refinement of the technologies to make them market-ready. He assured all possible help from Agrinnovate India Ltd..

Earlier in the day, a workshop was conducted by School of Biotechnology, University of Jammu in collaboration with Agrinnovate India ltd. on “Bridging innovation and collaboration: Strategies for successful technology transfer and effective partnership building”. Agrinnovate India Ltd., an organization that is focused on the commercialization of agricultural innovations as well as the development of public-private partnerships and equipping students, researchers, and faculty with the knowledge about innovation, technology development, transfer and commercialization of the technology.

The workshop commenced with the inaugural session where Prof. Neelu Rohmetra, Dean Research Studies, University of Jammu, was the chief guest for the event. Guests of honor of the event were Dr. Praveen Malik, CEO, Agrinnovate India Ltd. and Prof. Yashpal Sharma, Dean Faculty of Life Sciences.

Speaking at the event, Chief guest of the event; Prof. Neelu Rohmetra, Dean Research Studies, University of Jammu emphasized upon need by the Universities to take up research problems in such a way that they culminate in some kind of the product, process that is useful for the society. She also emphasized on the need for researchers to collaborate across disciplines. She promised that every kind of the support will be provided by the University of Jammu for innovative research.

On behalf of Agrinnovate India Ltd., guest of honor of the event, Dr. Praveen Malik, CEO, emphasized the company’s commitment to bridging the gap between academia and industry. He emphasized that science works with logic and in a systematic way. He advised the students to focus on translational research and the product development such that the solutions can be beneficial to the end-users.

Guest of honor of the event, Prof. Yashpal Sharma, Dean Life Sciences, University of Jammu focussed on the aspect that universities should collaborate with industries in which the part of universities would be identifying the problem and providing research facts on the same and industries would take part in implementing that solution.

The welcome address was presented by Prof. Sanjana Kaul, Director, School of Biotechnology, University of Jammu. She extended her heartfelt gratitude to all the dignitaries for their kind presence. She thanked honourable Vice Chancellor, Prof. Umesh Rai and Dean Research Studies, Prof. Neelu Rohmetra for their constant support for all the research endeavours. She emphasized that students are the future minds of the country and the purpose of the workshop is to empower them with knowledge so that the gap between industries and academia can be bridged.

Organizer of the event; Prof. Jyoti Vakhlu briefed the audience about the agenda of the workshop and emphasized on the need for stronger collaboration between academia and industry to meet the growing demands of sustainable agriculture.

Looking ahead, both the University of Jammu and Agrinnovate India Ltd. expressed their commitment to continuing this fruitful collaboration, organizing more such workshops, and expanding their efforts in research, development, and the promotion of sustainable agricultural practices.

The formal vote of thanks was presented by Prof. Madhulika Bhagat, Faculty, School of Biotechnology. She thanked all the dignitaries, University of Jammu, audience and press and print media.

The inaugural session was followed by the workshop by Guest of Honor, Dr. Praveen Malik, CEO, Agrinnovate India Ltd. The workshop was like a breath of fresh air as he talked about how the knowledge generated in the laboratory can be translated into the commercial project. The workshop covered a range of critical topics such as how to think to identify the research problem that can be translated into a product. The ways of collaboration with the industry.

The inaugural session was attended by Prof. Sanjana Kaul, Director, School of Biotechnology, Prof. Jyoti Vakhlu, Organizer of the event, Prof. Namrata Sharma, Prof. Veenu Kaul and Dr. Sikander from Department of Botany; Prof. Brijeshwar Singh from Department of Microbiology; Prof. Vikas Abrol; Department of Soil Sciences, SKAUST; Prof. Madhulika Bhagat; Dr. Ritu Mahajan; Dr. Nisha Kapoor; Dr. Yashpal Khajuria; Dr. Sheetal Ambardar; Dr. Ankit Mahajan; Dr. Bhartiraja; Dr. Mehak Gupta; Dr. Mridhu and Dr. Suhela from School of Biotechnology; students and scholars of life sciences.

The proceedings of the event were carried out by Ms. Kirti Bhagat and Ms. Priya Pandita.