A conversation session between Prof D Narayana Rao, Pro-Vice-Chancellor and the research scholars of SRM University-AP was held on August 10, 2021. On this occasion, Prof Ranjit Thapa’s research scholar from the Department of Physics and Dr Nimai Mishra’s research group from the Department of Chemistry were felicitated for their sustained progress in carrying out research.

Prof D Narayana Rao elaborated on the state of the art research facilities that SRM University-AP provide to carry out research 24×7. The university has completely centralized laboratories and the scholars can use any lab and equipment depending on the nature of their research. Well furnished lab spaces and working models with fire/safety and security provisions, modernized synthesis equipment and High-end characterization equipment, and fabrication facilities are available for custom made research.

X-ray diffractometer lab; Advanced Materials Laboratory with Radiant Ferroelectric analyser (DST project), custom made furnace for impedance measurements; Applied Nano Materials Lab with Electrochemical reactor, Photochemical reactor, Potentiostat-single channel; Genetics of Aging Laboratory; Colloidal Chemistry Laboratory; Organic Synthesis Lab; are few among the numerous laboratories that SRM University-AP extend to vigorous research projects that are being carried out on our campus.

Faculty members and PhD students have published papers in top-ranking journals like Nature, Nature Microbiology, Advanced Energy Materials, Journal of American Society (JACS), Advanced Functional Materials, Advanced Sciences, ACS Nano, IEEE Journals etc The university conducts joint research programmes with NARL, ISRO/DoS and has two industrial projects.

Dr Nimai Mishra expressed that the university has been supportive in moulding young and vibrant researchers. “The scholars of SRM University-AP match up to the level of students from IITs, presenting papers in international conferences and publishing articles in Scopus indexed journals”, he added. Lately, Vasavi Dutt Vankadaru, one of the brilliant minds working on perovskite nanocrystals for light-emitting application, along with Akhil Syed, delivered flash presentation ( e-Poster) at an international conference organised by the Indian Society for Radiation and Photochemical Sciences (ISRAPS).

The third edition of Research Day was held at SRM University-AP on August 21, 2021, to provide an excellent opportunity for all the faculty members, research scholars and students to exchange and exhibit their ideas on research. Prof U B Desai, Chancellor, Anurag University-Hyderabad, was the Chief Guest of the event.

In his speech, Prof UB Desai admitted that creating a research ecosystem in education has truly become important. During the last decade, the realisation happened, and it has been reflected in the National Education Policy, yet there is a long way to go. He further congratulated SRM University-AP for dedicating a day for research to motivate students towards the research pursuits. In his keynote address, “India’s Ascent to 5G”, he discussed some pertinent queries and showed the way forward. In every 10 years, there is an evolution in Communications. He made the audience aware of the 10 key technological trends- Artificial Intelligence, Autonomous Networks, Cyber Security, Distributed Ledgers, Dynamic Data, Extended Reality, Internet of Things, Quantum Computing, Autonomous Systems along with 3 software trends- Softwarization, Cloudification, Virtualisation which will shape the digital future. He further explained how Network evolution beyond the currently planned 5G is taking place. Research on 6G has already started, and in the future, it is poised to dominate 5G.

Prof Desai pointed out that India can make much improvement in Edge Computing and Metadata as these domains do not require huge resources. He further delved into the Evolved Network architecture and Indian Scenario and thrusts. He expressed that Research on 5G, Internet of Things and Cyber Security is critical to the National Interests. The nation thus is enhancing current Research and Developmental capabilities- domestic manufacturing and export-oriented. With interesting facts and charts, he laid down the mobile communication roadmap in India. In our country, mobile broadband is the premium source of the internet, with 80% of the internet traffic generated by it. An Indian consumes 11 Gb data per month per smartphone on an average which is the highest in the world. It need not be overemphasized that there is huge scope and opportunities in 5G research and beyond. Similarly, the Internet of Things is going to be another big wave. The next-generation devices and appliances will be hugely IoT based with less hassle in operation. Smart Cities-Sensors, Precision Agriculture, Digital Health, Industry 4.0, Automative are some of the sectors where it has substantial scope for application. Indian operators are also to launch nationwide NB-IoT services in the coming days.

In his welcome speech, Prof D. Narayana Rao, Pro-Vice-Chancellor, SRM University-AP, said that the universities and educational institutes need to trigger the thought process and inquisitiveness among the students beyond the classroom. Universities should give top priorities for research that creates a positive impact or change in society. The country’s universities and educational institutions need to be encouraged to perform transactional research that leads to the development of products needed for societal development. Universities and educational institutes should also look for collaborative research with the industry. Universities are the creators of knowledge and innovative ideas, providers of skilled manpower, agents of societal changes and symbols of international attention and prestige. Therefore rather than counting the number of publications, more focus is to be given to translational research.

Universities and educational institutes need to synergise so that both of them can be benefitted from the collaborative research outcomes. Falling behind innovation would mean falling behind in becoming a world leader. Therefore, for a country like India, aspiring to attain global economic leadership needs to be strongly encouraged and supported in research. Sri Narendra Modi, our Hon’ble Prime Minister, firmly believes that our future will be secure and global leadership will sustain only when we produce the next generation of world-class scientists, technologists, researchers and innovators. As India emerges as a global power, we need to move forward from being a knowledge consumer to a knowledge producer. It is the responsibility of universities and educational institutes to create knowledge.

SRM University-AP provides abundant opportunities to faculty and students to carry out frontline research. National Education Policy-2020’s sharp focus is on research and multidisciplinary approach. National Research Foundation has been set up as per the recommendation of National Education Policy-2020 to significantly enhance the research contributions. Research is the way forward to be a world superpower. We must inculcate the desire to perform quality research in students even from the undergraduate days.

In his speech, Prof V S Rao asserted how the nascent university has created its reputation in the education world of India. In fact, SRM University-AP has achieved several marvels in the last 30 months, including many research publications, projects, and several patents. Since its inception in 2017, the university has published over 500+ papers, 22 patents and 36 funded projects with an outlay of about Rs. 20 crores. He further emphasised that, unlike several other universities, SRM University-AP has research embedded in the curriculum. SRM University-AP does not believe in keeping research outside the curriculum. The capstone projects, research based learning, undergraduate research project, research internships with international universities or industry-SRM University-AP offer a plethora of opportunities to the students to bring out the inner researcher among them.

SRM University-AP firmly believes that a research eco-system should be inculcated among the students. The students must learn how to think and question and how to find the answers. Agreeing with Prof D. Narayana Rao, Prof VS Rao also mentioned that the National Education Policy-2020 puts a great emphasis on research since the importance of research need not be debated today. SRM University-AP thus introduced Research Day to impart curiosity towards transcendental knowledge among the students.

“Book of Abstracts” was launched by Prof V S Rao in the gracious presence of Prof UB Desai, Prof T Ragunathan, Associate Dean-Engineering, Prof Bandi Kamaiah, Dr B Siva Kumar, Deputy Dean and other dignitaries. 217 research abstracts were selected for presentation after review and scrutiny. 22 students out of them have received Gold medals for the research, and 9 students secured silver medals. All medal winners were felicitated in the event.