HIGH COMMISSION OF INDIA

OTTAWA

Press Release

Guru Nanak Dev Chair for Engineering set up at Concordia University in Montreal.

An academic chair in the name of Guru Nanak Dev Ji, the founder of Sikhism, has been set up at the Concordia University, Montreal, with the signing of an MOU between the Indian Council of Cultural Relations (ICCR), New Delhi, the Concordia University and Mr. Cuckoo Kochar, a leading Indo-Canadian business personality. The Chair, established under an innovative arrangement of public-private partnership, will be supported by Mr. Cuckoo Kochar and ICCR, New Delhi. It will be hosted by the Department of Building, Civil and Environmental Engineering of the Gina Cody School of Engineering and Computer Science of the Concordia University.

A leading academician in the field of civil engineering from India will occupy the Guru Nanak Dev Ji chair. The first incumbent of the chair is expected to assume the position in 2022.

The academic Chair, announced during the 551st birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev Ji, was finalized within one year of its announcement and will help strengthen the cooperation between India and Canada in the higher education sector.

Speaking on the occasion, Prof. Debbabi, Dean of Gina Cody School of Engineering and Computer Sciences said that Concordia University and particularly Gina Cody School of Engineering is looking forward to this exciting partnership with India and ICCR through this Chair. Mr. Cuckoo Kochar underlined the importance of such cooperation in technical areas. High Commissioner Ajay Bisaria commended Mr. Cuckoo Kochar for being the bridge between two of his alma maters – in bringing in the faculty for the Chair from BITS Pilani, India to Concordia University. The High Commissioner also applauded the initiative as a fitting tribute to Guru Nanak Ji’s progressive vision, given that the Chair would help strengthen understanding both of India’s traditional values and its technological capacities.

High Commissioner Ajay Bisaria, on behalf of ICCR, New Delhi, Mr. Cuckoo Kochar, the donor, Prof. Paul Chesser, Vice President, University Advancement and Prof. Mourad Debbabi, Dean of Gina Cody School of Engineering and Computer Sciences on behalf of the Concordia University, signed the MOU at a recent event at the Concordia University campus in Montreal. The signing ceremony was attended by prominent academicians, scholars, and other leading Indo-Canadian personalities like Mr. Baljit S. Chadha.

Ottawa

20 December 2021